


Crush (English Version)

by Merlucaforever



Series: There is No Greater Love - English Version [1]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: Français
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:53:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26564683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merlucaforever/pseuds/Merlucaforever
Summary: There is No Greater Love is a three-part series about Merluca’s love story set from 14x20. In this first part, Crush, which will have eight chapters, I invite you to discover how it all started with a simple crush the day Meredith welcomed Andrew into the sister house, letting him squat on her couch for a while, little did she know he would soon invade her thoughts as well as her dreams. How long do you think Meredith will be able to ignore the tingling she feels in the presence of her sexy resident?Every single title is named after a song similar to the plot that you should absoooooolutely listen to on YouTube.There is No Greater Love, by Amy WinehouseCrush, by David ArchuletaVERSION FRANÇAISE ÉGALEMENT DISPONIBLE!
Relationships: Andrew DeLuca/Meredith Grey
Series: There is No Greater Love - English Version [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932004
Comments: 36
Kudos: 63





	1. Smile

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Crush (Version Française)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321989) by [Merlucaforever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merlucaforever/pseuds/Merlucaforever). 



> Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well in these very difficult times. I’m glad to finally be back with a new fic; I’ve been working on this project for several months. I hope you’ll like the story and also the songs that took me ages to choose. Please, take the time to listen to them, they are definitely worth it and also, they are part of the story. Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think. My greatest pleasure is to read your comments. Enjoy your reading!
> 
> I do not own Grey’s Anatomy characters; Shonda Rhimes does.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie brings home an Andrew who is high after he ate some weed cookies unknowingly, like half of the surgeons at Grey Sloan. As Meredith tries to get rid of him, she realizes that she is more worried than annoyed at seeing him moping on her couch for days and that all she really wants is to see him smile again. 
> 
> Smile , by Nat King Cole

**_There is No Greater Love_ **

_(Amy Winehouse)_

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiVVbraY0k_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiVVbraY0k)

There is no greater love  
Than what I feel for you  
No sweeter song, no heart so true

There is no greater thrill  
Than what you bring to me  
No sweeter song  
Than what you sing, sing to me

You’re the sweetest thing  
I have ever known  
And to think that you are mine alone

There is no greater love  
In all the world, it’s true  
No greater love  
Than what I feel for you

Meredith was trying to focus on reading one of her mother’s journals, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even remember what information she was looking up in the journal. She was truly distracted this evening. The reason for her distraction: she kept sneaking glances at the new guest that Maggie had taken home today and who was sleeping inches away from her on the couch. But she would never admit it to herself. 

Instead, she blamed it on what had been one of the most eventful days at _Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital_ today: a huge scandal had just erupted over the Harper Avery Foundation and also, half of the surgeons, chief Bailey including, found themselves drugged after unknowingly eating weed cookies. 

This is it! What she was looking up in her mother’s journal were clues that would help her to better understand the scandal and solve the Cerone case at the same time. And if this handsome Italian was lying on her couch, it’s because he was still in a haze after having eaten a good quantity of weed cookies. His face was relaxed as if he was in a wonderful dream. 

Meredith told to herself that life could really be unfair. Just a few days ago, she had helped his girlfriend get away from the immigration by moving to Switzerland to continue her internship. She had been truly sorry for them and at the same time she was so angry at how the immigration system in her country had become completely insane.

Meredith sighed. She’d better go to bed; it’s been a rough day. Maggie was savoring her cheese plate next to her; so, she wished her good night and got up to go back to her room, not without casting a last glance at the sleeping Prince Charming on her couch. Wow! he was damn cute this resident! 

********************************************

The next morning, when she went downstairs to prepare the children’s breakfast, he was still sound asleep. Meredith was surprised to see that all the din the kids were making had not woken him up yet.

“Maggie, do you happen to know how long the effect of weed cookies last?” she asked her sister. 

“I have no clue! Maybe he ate more than all of us. You know, he’s been very sad since Sam left. Today’s Saturday; it’s the weekend. So, it’s better to let him recuperate here. I’m going to call Parker to bring him some stuff; I think they live in the same building.” 

“No problem. That’s very nice of you to take care of him. He’s your ex after all.” 

Maggie cleared her throat: 

“Actually, I’m spending the weekend at Jackson’s.” 

“What? Do you want me to babysit him for you? No way! That’s not happening!” Meredith snorted with laughter. 

“Mer, this is my first weekend at Jackson’s, and… need I remind you that I’m not the one who packed his girlfriend off halfway around the world? You owe it to him; don’t you think so?” 

“Maggie, I have not packed his girlfriend off halfw...” 

Stopping short, Meredith sighed and surrendered:

“Fine!” 

“Thank you, Mer. I’m sure he’ll get better by Monday and that you’ll have him out of your hair,” Maggie added before leaving quickly for fear that Meredith should change her mind. 

********************************************

It was not long before Meredith regretted her over-generosity. Andrew spent the whole weekend sprawled on the couch doing nothing but playing the guitar and singing melancholy songs. Why had Parker brought him that goddamn guitar, complained Meredith? She had been able to coax him into eating something a couple of times, however, it was trickier to coax him into taking a shower and she gave up after the first attempt. She spent all her time with the children and did the housework, preferring to leave him alone. ~~~~

On Monday morning, she tried in vain to drag him out of the couch, so he could go to work. He was singing one of his melancholy songs for the umpteenth time — she should rather say that he was butchering it. She thanked God that Zola could not understand the lyrics which were in Italian.

“Andrew, I’m going to work at the hospital. Remember? The big building… with a lot of sick people inside… would you like to come?” she asked him sarcastically. 

“I already called in sick,” he replied in an annoyed tone. 

“You know you are not sick,” she commented.

“My whole body… just… it hurts, OK… I am sick!” he persisted. 

Meredith realized that there was nothing she could do; she did not insist any further and went to work. Nevertheless, she refused to admit defeat because she was starting to worry about him. He had been moping on that couch for three days and she thought it was not very healthy for him to spend his days pining for his girlfriend. She had helped Catherine Fox save the foundation today by renaming it after her, but it was apparently more difficult to drag Andrew out of her sofa. So, she brought some backup with her when she got back home. As was to be expected, he was lying in the same spot. She grabbed a cushion and toss it right in his face.

“Hey, Garfunkel!” she called out for him.

“Ooooh! Leave me alone!” he wailed. 

“I have something for you,” she said.

In fact, the surprise she had for him was his sister Carina who came in reinforcements. Meredith had first asked Arizona for help, but the latter had advised her to talk preferably to Andrew’s sister. She told her that she would find her at Joe’s and Meredith had to go there to meet with Carina and tell her about her concerns.

Carina did not bother treating her brother with kid gloves. She let him know right off the bat that it was disgusting to let himself go like that and ask him to get the hell out of his boss house. Meredith didn’t want to meddle in their quarrel and preferred to go upstairs, praying to God that he wouldn’t forget his guitar.

********************************************

The children were already asleep, and Meredith relieved the nanny who was still with them because her sisters hadn’t got back home from work yet. From her bedroom, she could overhear the brother and sister but could not understand much of what they were saying since they were speaking Italian. She had some rudimentary knowledge of Italian because she took three years of Italian in undergrad, but they were speaking far too fast for her. After a while, she went back downstairs to see what was going on.

Carina started speaking English when she saw Meredith.

“Andrea, you’re acting like a baby!” she said to her brother in an exasperated tone. 

“You know, I didn’t expect you to understand. You’ve never been in a relationship that goes past three months. And anyway, you hated her. You may not have informed on her to immigration, but I’m sure you’re rejoicing in her deportation.” 

Carina looked truly hurt.

“Andrea! I always thought that this girl wasn’t good enough for you, but if it was in my power, I would have done everything I could to prevent that. Please come home with me.”

Crossing his arms on his chest, Andrew looked at her and stubbornly refused to go with her: 

“Me, staying at your place? You can whistle for it!”

“OK! I give up!” Carina said, letting her shoulders sag in discouragement. Then, turning to Meredith who was watching the scene silently, she added: “Dr. Grey, I’m sorry. But you have my permission to kick him out. He knows where to find me if he needs me and he knows I’d be there for him.” 

She left, looking a little sad. Andrew sighed and plumped down on the couch, then he buried his head in both his hands. Meredith stepped closer but remained standing. 

“Andrew, I’m sorry about what happened to Sam. But I was the one who called your sister because you can’t stay wallowing on my couch forever. Not that it bothers me, but because it’s not healthy. It’s been three days; you absolutely have to pull yourself together.” 

“I know,” he whined. 

“Andrew, I know we don’t know each other very well but I do know how much it sucks to lose the person you love. And I know that Sam wouldn’t want you spending your time drowning in your pain… Andrew you’re young, and you have that face! You’re gonna fall in love again! And you’re gonna get your heart broken again. And that’s life, and it’s beautiful... and it’s messy! It’s a beautiful mess. But you can’t cling to what was; you have to look to what might be. That’s what Sam is doing on her side. I spoke to Dr. Yang, she told me that she was fine. In fact, she said that she’s doing really well.” 

“I... uh… I’m sorry Dr. Grey. I’m going to squat in an on-call room at the hospital until I find a place. I don’t want to go back to Sam’s apartment; the lease was in her name and I’m not going to renew it. I... I’m going to leave.” 

He was about to get up, but Meredith had approached him in two strides; she put her hand on his shoulder so that he could sit down again and said gently to him: 

“Stay... I’d like you to stay.” 

He looked up at her, a bit surprised by her kindness. Her hand on his shoulder was comforting. Her voice was empathetic without holding any pity. As for Meredith, she did not want to analyze this surge of affection towards him, this sudden urge to be there for him and to help him. She had spent her day thinking about him and worrying about him. It was part of her nature; she was a doctor and helped people, that’s all. Quickly taking her hand off his shoulder as if she had been burned, she sat down next to him and continued: 

“Stay until you find another place… I mean... stay until you get better and only then you might start looking for a place. No need to rush, you know.” 

“Dr. Grey... I... thank you; that’s very kind of you but...” 

“There’s no _buts_ about it. This is an open house. Everyone is always welcome here, even more so my best resident. So, it’s settled; you stay.”

“I... I don’t know how to thank you.” 

“Well, actually... uh… I know how you can thank me.” 

“Tell me how; I would be very happy to be able to help you in return.”

“First, you could start by smiling a little. I don’t want to see that sad face anymore,” she smiled, as if to encourage him to do the same. 

In an attempt to smile, Andrew’s face twisted in a way that looked more like a wince and Meredith laughed lightly.

“Not exactly what I expected, but at least it’s a start,” she finally conceded. “And now, how about a shower?” 

Andrew stared at her with a puzzled look, his head tilted to the side. Meredith saw the confusion on his face as if she had made an indecent proposal to him. She realized too late that her words could indeed have a double entendre. She should have felt offended that he could have imputed such intentions to her but to be honest, she was rather overwhelmed by the image of their two bodies bare naked entwined in the shower that immediately flashed through her mind. Not wanting to look flustered, she exclaimed:

“No! I did not mean a shower with me! It’s not a seduction!” 

“No... sorry Dr. Grey... I thought nothing of the sort. Even though I’m not capable of rational thoughts these days, I didn’t mean to imply that…” 

“All right, stop, stop, stop... that’s enough,” she hissed, gesticulating to emphasize her order as if preventing him from putting such thoughts into words would help her chase away this inappropriate image. Then, she added in the same tone that she would have used to tear a trip off any resident in her service by enunciating her words slowly and distinctly: “Andrew, what I mean is that you can stay... provided that you scrupulously respect the hygiene rules of this house, which include _showering regularly_. Do I make myself clear?” 

Andrew’s mouth hung open as he processed what she had just implied.

“Oh!” he exclaimed when he finally understood what she meant. After a quick glance at the clothes he had been wearing for so long that he no longer knew since when, he began to smile… a genuine smile that turned into a little laugh. “Yes, it’s a vital emergency! You’re right, Dr. Grey, I should go right away.” 

Meredith matched her laughter to his and the atmosphere relaxed a little.

“That smile is much better,” she commented.

“Thank you, Dr. Grey. I’m going to go,” he said as he got up, immediately imitated by Meredith. 

“Well, let’s go then.” She stopped short when she noticed her slip of the tongue and stammered: “I… I mean... I’ll show you… where the towels are stored and… you will also need clean blankets.” 

“Okay,” said Andrew.

He followed her until she stopped in front of the bathroom. Pointing to a closet, she quickly said: 

“You’ll find everything you need in this closet over there. There’s also plenty of room to store your belongings for now since you haven’t gotten everything back yet. You’ll let me know if you need more. You’ll also find a key to the house in the drawer of the entryway table at the foyer.” 

Andrew nodded voicelessly in thanks. Meredith decided that it was high time to end this somewhat bizarre exchange. She suddenly turned on her heel to go up to her room without another word.

_A shower with him! What the hell was going through his mind?_

But an inner voice said to her: 

_Why not? You haven’t stopped checking him out since he’s been here; he may have noticed._

_No! I never checked him out_... she tried to convince herself.

Once she reached her room, she began to undress and decided to go to take a shower and then go to bed right away. She had nibbled too much while she was at Joe’s with Carina. Their snack was such that she didn’t need dinner. Anyway, she wouldn’t have gone down to the kitchen for anything in the world not to bump into Andrew. The last thing she needed right now was a _tête-à-tête_ with him.

Minutes later, she was in the shower. She closed her eyes… and he was there. _Hmm... the water was running down his black hair, his handsome face, his bare skin..._

 _“For God sake, what’s gotten into you, girl_?” she admonished herself. She hurried out of the bathroom, unable to stop her mind from wandering towards another bathroom downstairs and its occupant, knowing that a certain Italian was taking a shower there at the same time. It was not the first time that she had a male colleague at home; there had been George, Alex and Jackson. She had never imagined them in the shower with her. It was the first time this had ever happened to her. 

What was so special about this new guest? Was it really a good idea to have invited him to stay? 

**_Crush_ **

_(David Archuleta)_

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_wmxuqwnI_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_wmxuqwnI)

I hung up the phone tonight  
Something happened for the first time deep inside  
It was a rush, what a rush

'Cause the possibility  
That you would ever feel the same way about me  
It’s just too much, just too much

[Pre-Chorus] Why do I keep running from the truth?  
All I ever think about is you  
You’ve got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
And I’ve just got to know

[Chorus] Do you ever think when you’re all alone  
All that we could be, where this thing could go?  
Am I crazy or falling in love?  
Is it real or just another crush?

Do you catch your breath when I look at you?  
Are you holding back like the way I do?  
'Cause I’ve tried and tried to walk away  
But I know this crush ain’t goin' away

Has it ever crossed your mind  
When we’re hanging, spending time girl, are we just friends?  
Is there more, is there more?

See it’s a chance we’ve got to take  
'Cause I believe that we can make this into something that will last  
Last forever, forever  
  


**_Smile_ **

_(Nat King Cole)_

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXuB6md9zPk>

Smile though your heart is aching  
Smile even though it’s breaking  
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by  
If you smile through your fear and sorrow  
Smile and maybe tomorrow  
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness  
Hide every trace of sadness  
Although a tear may be ever so near  
That’s the time you must keep on trying  
Smile, what’s the use of crying?  
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile  
If you just smile


	2. For the First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew discovers the house rules laid down by Meredith in the funniest way possible and realizes that they are not to be trifle with. For her part, Meredith wonders if those rules will be enough to protect her from the captivating eyes and the devastating smile of the handsome Italian which she feels like she is discovering for the first time.
> 
> For the First Time, by Kenny Loggins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you liked the first chapter. I’m really nervous as I’m posting the second chapter which I particularly like because things are starting to fall into place. Please, comment. Enjoy your reading!
> 
> I apologize for the mistakes, I’m not a native speaker.

The next morning was Tuesday and Andrew decided it was high time for him to go to work. Amelia had to go to the hospital for an early shift and he took the opportunity to leave with her. He found comfort in being at least helpful to his patients. He had gotten his car back from the Grey Sloan parking lot and, for the rest of the week, he was the first one to leave for work in the morning and the last one to come back home in the evening, preferring to work late to avoid Meredith and her sisters.

Working helped him not to dwell on his sadness over and over. He had just found Sam and now she had vanished again. Carina always said that they were doing more harm than good to each other; according to her, she was only his high-school sweetheart and he was going to get over her. In any case, he had never experienced anything closer to love. 

On Friday, he finally got through to Sam. Since she left a few days ago, she had refused to take his calls. She told him that he had to move on because that is what she intended to do. It sounded like a farewell and it helped him somehow. Indeed, knowing that it was over and especially accepting that it was over, would help him to move on as well. There was no point in letting himself go as he did; he had to admit that his sister was right about that. Maggie had also been trying to cheer him up for the past few days. She once joked that no one would have thought that she would be so happy today after he dumped her; so, there was hope for him too.

Even Meredith Grey who didn’t know him at all tried to help him. He remembered her little speech perfectly well. He must have been a real bother to her. It was a good thing that she had called Carina. He had to admit that his sister had helped to get him out of his torpor — a little roughly maybe, but it had worked. So, he was grateful to his sister, and also to his hostess, and wanted to make an effort to pull through. And that’s what he was going to do, even though he knew his heart would take longer to heal.

When he came back that night, he was very tired. After talking to Sam, he had gone to her place to get back the rest of his stuff and he had the idea to go to the Gym to empty his mind as he often did on Friday nights. Not surprisingly, everyone was already in bed. He decided to do the same and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower first.

********************************************

Meredith had come home later than usual due to a surgery which had proven to be more complicated than expected. After a reinvigorating shower, she was heading down to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat when she came face to face with Andrew who was coming back from the shower as well, shirtless, with only a towel wrapped around his hip. She must have been showering when he got home because she hadn’t heard him — he had his own key and hadn’t had to ring the doorbell. She was speechless when she saw him approach.

And wow! It was like watching a movie in slow-motion! She admired the movements of his strong and well-developed body... his amazing muscular arms... his perfect abs... Then her gaze stopped for a moment on the towel, which was far too small. Its only purpose seemed to invite you to guess what it was hiding...

Her mouth was so wide open that her jaw was going to hit the floor if she didn’t close it. She shook her head to try to think normally. 

“Andrew! What on earth are you doing?” 

He seemed a little embarrassed as he replied:

“I brought the rest of my stuff back tonight, but I left the bag on the couch. I’m just going to get some clean clothes.”

“There are children in this house!” she snapped at him. 

_“And also, a woman who hasn’t seen a naked man elsewhere than in a OR in ages! A man built like a god on top of that!”_ she added to herself.

“Dr. Grey... I’m sorry... I know that the kids are already in bed at this hour and I assumed that you were too...” 

While speaking, he walked towards her and, since she didn’t move, he stopped a few inches from her.

She looked up at him and met his gaze. She hadn’t seen him for four days because he always left before she work-up and came home while she was already in bed. Strangely enough, she hadn’t stopped thinking about him and had even tried to see him at the hospital but without success — this was not unusual, as she could go days without seeing a resident if he was not on her service. _My God, he’s so sexy!_ She had trouble articulating correctly. 

“What ... what are you doing?” she asked him. 

“I’m going to take my bag. If you don’t mind...” said Andrew as he motioned for her to step aside so that he could pass her to reach his bag. 

“Oh! sorry,” she said, stepping aside slightly. 

His arm brushed hers as he moved towards the couch. Meredith’s heartbeat quickened a little.

 _“Calm down, girl; he’s your resident. And he’s also your sister’s ex,”_ she admonished herself.

He bent down to grab his bag and began looking for some clothes. Meredith had plenty of time to admire him from behind and wondered how it was possible to have such a perfect body. She slightly startled when he turned sideways to face her.

“Dr. Grey?”

“What?” 

“Uh... Are you going to stay there?” 

Meredith could have sworn that he had a smirk at the corner of his lips. After that whole shower thing the other day, it was the height of embarrassment! 

“Uh... I... I’m going to the kitchen,” she stammered, shifting her weight uncomfortably from foot to foot. Then, she suggested: “Uh... do you want to eat something?” 

She wanted to look normal and forget about the awkwardness of the situation, but she failed. Why did she ask him to have dinner with her? How could that make things less weird?

“I’d like to. Thank you,” he simply replied.

It took her a few more seconds before she realized that she was still standing there unmoving, gazing at him. 

_What’s the matter with you, girl? Move! Have you forgotten how to do it? Just lift one foot after the other. That’s it... well done. And you go into the kitchen without turning around, you’ve been checking him out enough... There you go!_

********************************************

“Phew!” she uttered, as she entered the kitchen. 

After a little while, when her breathing returned to its normal pace, she began to forage in the refrigerator and cabinets in search of what she could eat. As was to be expected, there wasn’t much.

She could really use a drink right now! She took a bottle of wine and she was about to open it when Andrew walked into the kitchen. She stopped dead in her track to look up at him. And suddenly, seeing him so sexy, she was aware that she was wearing an old pair of pajamas — long pants and a long-sleeved top — that was not sexy at all.

“I know that I’m having dinner with the head of General Surgery but unfortunately, I forgot to bring my tuxedo,” he said with a smile. 

He was wearing black sweatpants and a grey short-sleeved t-shirt that brought out his athletic body. And he made her as much nervous as when he was wearing only a mere towel. His thick curly black hair was still slightly damp from the shower; it looked like he had hastily tidied his hair back into place with his fingers. She thought that he was just perfect! Unfortunately for her, without realizing it, the words had popped out as soon as they crossed her mind.

“You are perfect,” she said dreamily. _Oh boy, what a choice of words!_ It certainly wasn’t the way she wanted it to come out. She cleared her throat before continuing in order to put it right: “I mean... for leftover chicken and a box of mac ‘n’ cheese… I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s perfect,” Andrew repeated with a smile. 

It was the kind of smile that romance writers called devastating. She now understood why, judging by her knees that were getting weak and her cheeks that flushed pink. It was as if he was returning a compliment. She smiled back at him before resuming to open the bottle of wine with an unsteady hand.

“Wait... Let me help you,” offered Andrew gallantly. 

He was already beside her in a couple of strides and delicately took the bottle and the corkscrew from her hands. Their hands brushed and she couldn’t help blushing. Curiously, he also seemed a little nervous and looked up at her. When their eyes met, it was as if they were seeing each other for the first time. However, the gleam in his black eyes lasted only a split second and she thought she had imagined it.

She went to fetch two glasses in the cupboard, which gave her a good excuse to get away from him… and from his smile… and his eyes… and his bewitching _eau de cologne_. She avoided handing him the glasses and preferred to put them next to the bottle. Andrew poured some wine into them and handed her one. Then, holding his, he said with a smile:

“I drink to the kindest of hostesses. I promise to not overstay my welcome. And I promise to comply with all the house rules. I already know two of them which are very important to you: shower regularly, and do not walk around the living room in a towel.” 

Meredith laughed slightly as they raised their glasses.

“We should definitively drink to that! You won’t get away with it that easily next time.” 

Did he still have the same glow in his eyes, Meredith wondered? She should stop talking so as not to make things worse. 

_Next time? What will you do the next time you bumped into him in your living room dressed in a mere towel? Will you jump his bones?_

Meredith hastily put her glass down to avoid staring at him any longer and then went to put some water on the stove to boil the pasta.

“Need help with the meal?” he asked. 

“I don’t think so, but thanks anyway. Cooking it’s not my thing; it’s no secret. I’m pretty sure that you would have found out about it from my kids by the end of the week anyhow. But I don’t know any doctor who hasn’t learned how to prepare mac ‘n’ cheese and warm up roasted chicken in med school.” 

“I cannot but agree with you. I discovered this kind of boxed mac ‘n’ cheese when I was in med school.” 

“What? In med school? You never ate that when you were a child?” 

“No. Never.” 

“Where exactly did you live?” asked Meredith jokingly. 

Andrew burst out laughing.

“I assure you, I wasn’t raised in the jungle by wolves; although I must admit that with my haircut when I was 10, I looked a lot like Mowgli!” 

It was Meredith’s turn to laugh. The atmosphere was starting to relax between them, and she was relieved. She didn’t want him to think she was flirting. By the way, was she flirting with him? No... Of course not.

“Tell me about it; I’m all ears!” 

Andrew was relieved to see the atmosphere relax, too. He had felt a kind of awkwardness between them earlier and was glad to see that he had surely imagined everything. He had been so upset because of the whole thing with Sam that he couldn’t think straight anymore. Anyone would have been uncomfortable to find an almost naked man in their living room; that didn’t mean anything. And for his part, he had always been very intimidated by Meredith Grey. She was the only surgeon in the hospital to have won a Harper Avery, not to mention that the Grey-Sloan was named after her and that she owned a large part of it. So yes, there was a lot to be intimidated by when you were just a fourth-year resident.

Yes, but… that didn’t explain why he had felt her gaze like a caress on his body when he was half-naked in front of her earlier. And that certainly didn’t explain why he was captivated by her eyes and her smile at the moment. So, he decided to launch into a speech about macaroni and cheese to chase away his absurd thoughts.

“Mac ‘n’ cheese is an Italian recipe that dates back several centuries. I know that, because my mother had a lot of cookbooks. She thought that it was a sacrilege for any Italian who respected his culture to eat this stuff full of saturated fat that was made on the line. I loved pasta but she always made her own recipe. And I can tell you that I didn’t miss out on anything. I can’t think of a better cook than her.” 

Meredith noted that he spoke about his mother in the past tense with a hint of nostalgia in his voice, but she did not pick up on it.

“Neither did my mother ever prepare it for me. But I think it’s because she didn’t know how to use the stove,” she laughed. 

Andrew smiled, glad that she had swept away his nostalgia by her laughter. He offered to set the table and used the one in the eat-in-kitchen where the family liked to have breakfast instead of the one in the dining room. He also warmed up the chicken in the microwave and put it on the table. He did so while continuing to chat. It was nice to be able to talk to someone after spending the past few days brooding. He found himself listening to her laughter with delight. But what surprised him most, was that he was laughing too for the first time in days.

When the meal was ready, Meredith said to him with a laugh:

“I hope you’re ready to have a great dining experience!” 

“I’m sure it’s delicious; and I’m starving anyway. I’ll eat up anything you put in front of me.” 

Minutes later, they were seated at the table eating their frugal meal. At the first bite, Andrew suppressed a wince, but Meredith wasn’t fooled.

“Okay, you can say it.” 

“Say what?” asked Andrew with a fake innocent look on in face.

“It’s inedible.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” 

“Come on, this is the third rule of this house: Always be honest and tell the truth.” 

“Since you ask me, I would say that it’s overcooked and a bit salty. However, the chicken is not bad,” he added, although it was obvious that it came from a rotisserie.

“Thank you for being so honest. As a reward, you will have to eat it up. That’ll teach you not to break rule number 4.” 

“What? What rule?” 

“No one should criticize my cooking.” 

“Oh, you got me all wrong. It was, like, a compliment you know. It’s not everyone who can manage to botch such a simple preparation while all the cooking instructions are on the box!” he smirked. 

“Andrew Deluca, you’re mocking your attending!” 

Meredith was enjoying their conversation more than she should. But the most surprising thing was that she found it perfectly normal to have a late dinner with him and laugh at everything he said.

“Let me guess, I just broke rule number 5. And there’s a sanction lying in wait for me.” 

“You catch on quickly. Now I understand why even the chief says that you’re the best resident. You’ll be on dishes duty to make up for it.” 

“Don’t you think I should know the rules first? It would be easier for me to avoid breaking them,” he asked, tilting his head to one side. 

Meredith noticed that it was not the first time he had done that. It was probably a tic. An adorable tic.

“Maybe. But that will take all the fun out of it. You know what they say: _ignorance of law excuses no one_.” 

Andrew burst out laughing.

“I knew it was too good to be true!” 

“What?” 

“Your warm and friendly welcome!” 

It was in this light-hearted atmosphere that they finished their meal. Andrew made it a point of honor to finish his plate washing it all down with some wine. Meredith discovered that he had a great sense of humor. She hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. As for Andrew, if someone had told him that he would be laughing tonight, he wouldn’t have believed them. He felt really good for the first time in days. His boss was such good company! Her laugh was contagious and very pleasant to listen to. A laugh that lit up her eyes and made her look even more beautiful. Yes, she was really beautiful.

Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts:

“OK. I think you deserve that I ease the sanction. I’ll help you wash the dishes.” 

“Wow! This is very magnanimous of you, Dr. Grey. Thank you,” he said with a slight bow. 

She smiled at him and said to him: 

“Meredith.” 

“What?” 

“Call me Meredith. You can drop the _Dr. Grey thing_ when we’re home. It’s a rule.”

She heard her inner voice said: “ _OK, you can stop with the rules now; there are already six._ _It’s starting to get a little ridiculous._ ” She would have liked to go back on that last rule anyway when she saw Andrew smiling at her by way of an answer. He let his gaze lingered on her. Meredith couldn’t say how long, but it was surely far too long. It seemed like his eyes wanted to read her. It was like he was fascinated by what he was seeing.

Meredith felt herself blush like a teenager and looked away, not wishing her eyes to give away what she was feeling in that very moment. Something told her that it was dangerous to get lost like that in his eyes. So, eager to distance herself from him, she decided to clear the table and reached out for her plate. But Andrew stopped her by slowly putting his hand on hers, sending shivers down her spine.

“Meredith?” he murmured. 

It seemed like he just wanted to hear how her given name would sound in his mouth for the first time. For Meredith for sure, it was the most pleasant sound, as sensual as the most intimate caress. Suddenly, it was really hot in the kitchen.

He was still smiling at her while looking into her eyes and he simply said:

“Thank you.”

Meredith thought that she absolutely had to add a seventh rule: _No looking at me with those eyes and above all no smiling at me like that._

**For the First Time**

_(Kenny Loggins)_

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bieBrWI8Y_I_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bieBrWI8Y_I)

Are those your eyes, is that your smile  
I’ve been looking at you forever  
But I never saw you before  
Are these your hands holding mine  
Now I wonder how I could have been so blind  
  
 **[Chorus]** For the first time I am looking in your eyes  
For the first time I’m seeing who you are  
I can’t believe how much I see  
When you’re looking back at me  
Now I understand what love is...  
Love is... for the first time...  
  
Can this be real, can this be true  
Am I the person I was this morning  
And are you the same you  
It’s all so strange. How can it be  
All along this love was right in front of me  
  
 **[Chorus]...**  
  
Such a long time ago  
I had given up on finding this emotion ever again  
But you live with me now  
Yes I’ve found you somehow  
And I’ve never been so sure  
  
 **[Chorus]…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Comments are welcome. There will be a new chapter in two weeks. See you soon!


	3. Feels Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There have been a lot of changes at home since Andrew’s arrival, much to the delight of the children. Strangely enough, Meredith and Andrew are as happy as them to slip into the new routine. And the more they get to know each other, the more it feels like something familiar and yet new.
> 
> Feels Like Home, by Diana Krall - feat. Bryan Adams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. I’m glad to be able to post a new chapter. Please be indulgent because I’ve written and rewritten it at least 10 times and I don’t know what to think of the result. It would help me a lot to know what you think yourself. Enjoy your reading!

Meredith had had trouble sleeping and woke up much later than usual, even on a Saturday morning. All through the dinner with her resident last night, she had felt a sort of chemistry between them. It was literally electricity that had been flowing between them, especially while they were doing the dishes together, unable to avoid a certain proximity or to avoid touching each other unintentionally from time to time. She had had some very inappropriate dreams in which there was a certain Italian with devastating look and smile in her bed.

When she went downstairs, she found the said Italian making pancakes for the kids in the kitchen. She was surprised to see them already up. They were helping Andrew prepare the pancakes. This help consisted mainly in making a mess and covering themselves with flour. Meredith smiled when she saw them laughing with Andrew. The latter was explaining to them how to avoid too much lumps in great details by making lots of grimaces. It was good to see him so happy, Meredith thought.

“Mommy!” the kids shrieked in unison when they saw her. 

“Hey guys! What are you doing?” 

Andrew looked up at her and greeted her with a broad smile. 

“God morning Dr. Gr… Meredith.”

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest.

_Wow, that smile! Definitely, I should tell him about the seventh rule!_

“We’re making pancakes!” Zola replied. 

“There are also eggs,” Bailey stated. 

“Come on, Mom; Drew are going to show you how to do better pancakes,” added Ellis. 

“Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t say anything,” Andrew said in his defense, remembering that no one should make fun of her cooking.

“Oh, and why are you smirking?” she asked.

Andrew smiled and hastened to pour her a large mug of coffee.

“Here your coffee. Black and just one sugar?” 

“You know how I like my coffee!” 

“I must have heard it somewhere. I remind you that I’ve been squatting on your couch for a week.” 

_Oh, trust me, I’m not likely to forget that!_

Meredith went to sit at the table with her coffee. It was delicious and she complimented him. He replied:

“You know, there is no such person as an Italian who did not know how to make coffee. Even if you grew up in Wisconsin like me.”

“Hmm ... and at what else are Italians good?” she asked him. 

_Apart from haunting the dreams of poor lonely sex-starved widows_?

“You know, I might surprise you.” 

_Is he flirting with me? No, he won’t dare!_

But an inner voice said: _I think it’s rather you who is flirting with him._

The images of her dirty dream popped into her mind at the same time and she was overwhelmed by his gaze. So, she hurried to turn her attention to the children in order to keep her inappropriate thoughts from overwhelming her in his presence. She could already foresee that they were going to become her chaperones in the coming days, whenever she would need to avoid awkward _tête-à-tête_ with him.

A few moments later, the children had already eaten up their hearty breakfast without even being asked. Meredith couldn’t get over it! Even Alex would have had to beg them for that. They seemed to be totally fascinated by Andrew who really have a way with kids. They had asked some questions about the sad man from the couch at first but now, they were just happy that he was “healed” and willing to play with them. 

The children then invited Andrew to accompany them to the park. He gladly accepted, not wanting to keep to himself moping. They had a great time at the park. Then, hungry, they stopped at their favorite place for lunch and ate burgers and French fries. Andrew promised them that he was going to take care of the dinner because they should eat healthy food as well. He insisted on going to the supermarket and he literally bought everything in sight. The refrigerator and the kitchen cupboards were full up. This had never been seen before. Meredith wanted to pay for the groceries, or at least part of them, but he wouldn’t let her, saying that it was just his little thank you for her hospitality.

That evening, at dinner, the kids and Meredith were all blown away by his culinary skills. He got this from his mother, he said, and Meredith had to admit that his cooking put hers to shame. The kids tucked into their plates with great gusto. It had been a long time since they had enjoyed such amazing meal.

The next day was Sunday and Andrew had again spent all his time with the children: guitar lessons, cartoons, Lego building, not to mention the stories he had told them after dinner to please Ellis. Meredith watched him with the kids sitting in a circle around him on the living room floor. She realized that he was pretty good at telling stories to kids. Obviously, it was not the first time he was doing so. 

He then told her that he had no less than 16 first cousins aged 2 to 15 and that her kids were angels compared to them. Still, Andrew was very patient with them, and that didn’t seem to bother him, quite the contrary. He looked so different from the sad man on her couch whom she had welcomed a week earlier! It seems like this weekend had really transformed him. 

********************************************

It didn’t take Andrew long to settle into their little routine in the following weeks. The children quickly became accustomed to his presence, too. Indeed, they had succumbed to his charm and Andrew seemed to enjoy their company as well, no doubt about it. He never seemed to get tired nor did he ever run out of ideas about how to make their weekends or evenings more enjoyable, even after a long exhausting day at the hospital. Meredith had tried several times to tell him that he didn’t have to do all this because she was embarrassed to take advantage of his kindness like that. He would simply reply every time that he was happy to do so.

He would make them tasty meals such as pasta and homemade pizza; they would spend their evening playing games, watching movies or enjoying Andrew’s storytelling skills. He had taken them on a couple of outings at the park and they also went to the museum to see guitars. Now, they couldn’t be catch out on the topic and they liked listening to Andrew play the guitar and sing happy songs almost every weekend. They were planning on going to the aquarium soon and who knows even to the zoo which was to welcome a panda in a few weeks. Andrew also brought them small gifts: books, candies and kits for coloring and crafts activities and even some DIY toys... Yes, you could say that he literally pampered the children. 

However, she, too, had quickly become accustomed to his presence in the simplest moments: during the journey when they carpooled to work (and not just because he would rushed to open the door for her every time like an actual gentleman); during the meals he often shared with her and the kids (and which he prepared mostly); during breaks at work to grab a coffee (they often brought coffee to each other and yes it was sometimes very, very weird); during the evenings they spent sitting on the couch at a respectful distance from each other chatting and drinking wine or beer after putting the kids to bed (they could not chaperone them all the time, could they?). 

To make matters worse, she had discovered that they had a lot in common. Indeed, one rainy night, curled up on the couch, each wrapped cozily in their own blanket, they stayed up for a long time talking about their parents while drinking hot chocolate after having tucked the children in. He told her about his childhood in Italy; his father who got bipolar and who had caused the death of four patients during an episode because he refused his treatment; his mother who had left Italy to settle down with him to Wisconsin while Carina had stayed with their father. She told him about Tatcher, Ellis Grey and her Alzheimer’s disease, and of course, her little sister, Lexie. 

Then, to chase away their melancholy, Andrew grabbed his guitar and they started singing old songs together and Meredith even had her first guitar lesson. But she was a very bad learner since she could think of nothing but Andrew’s hands on hers while he showed her how to position her fingers. 

She had never opened up to anyone so easily like she did to him. Seeing that they had in common complicated relationships with famous surgical parents as well as the death of loved ones made her feel very close to him. And she felt closer to him literally, too. Indeed, day by day, they were paying less and less attention to the physical distance they used to put between them when sitting on the couch. And the distance was getting smaller and smaller.

She had fell asleep on his shoulder in the middle of _Sleepless_ _in Seattle_ a few days later. She had managed to convince him to watch it by telling him that it was mandatory for everyone living in Seattle to watch this great classic. She and Andrew bickered over the last slice of pizza, which they had finally shared — of course — as well as a large bowl of popcorn. It was the first time they had sat so close to each other on the couch laughing, touching and nudging each other. Oddly enough, it seemed normal to them to be so friendly with each other.

Why on earth did she dropped off in the middle of the movie! She woke up next to him with her head on his chest while he had an arm around her shoulder. He too was asleep. He was strikingly handsome! Meredith felt so good in his arms that she didn’t want to leave, but she knew she had to because she was practically in his bed. Meredith couldn’t tell how long she had been studying his perfect features before he started to move slightly. She didn’t want to wake him up so, she extracted herself cautiously out of his arms and got up. Before going up to her bedroom, she took a blanket and draped it over his body and couldn’t resist the urge to brush the small strand of hair on his forehead before straightening back up.

Meredith could no longer ignore what was happening to her. In fact, as the days went by, she became more and more overwhelmed by Andrew’s presence, and it was harder to not acknowledge it or to not let it show through. Two days after their little movie night, he was making her a cappuccino in the kitchen and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Unfortunately for her, her gaze which lingered just a little too long on the handsome Italian had not escaped Maggie’s notice. As soon as she realized that she had been caught, she blushed and quickly lowered her eyes. Maggie had given her an enigmatic look, and since then, Meredith had always felt like she was watching them every time she was around.

Amelia also had caught her lost in admiration of her resident one day when he came back from his run in his sweat-drenched T-shirt, with his hair stuck on his forehead and his neck, as if he had poured water over his head. She couldn’t help but gazing at him with great delight as she recalled how well-built he was when she had bumped into him walking around the living room in a towel. Amelia seemed surprised at first then she had smiled at her teasingly.

She had to scrub in with him on that day and it didn’t help her at all that he was so close to her in the O.R. To make matters worse, he joined her in the cafeteria afterwards while she was having lunch. And she hadn’t stopped smiling and giggling like an idiot as he told her an anecdote about Schmitt’s run-ins with a patient’s daughter. His imitation of Schmitt was so comical that she couldn’t help herself, almost forgetting where they were… until they looked up and saw Carina in front of their table, holding her tray. Andrew had invited her to take a seat and her first remark was:

“Wow, Andrea, you look great! What makes you so happy? Dr. Grey, do you have any idea?”

Her gaze went from Meredith to her brother and from her brother to Meredith. Andrew told her it was because they had just saved a young woman’s life, and Meredith was happy to change the subject. They make small talk for a while, but Meredith hadn’t lingered more than 10 minutes, under the pretext that she had work to do so that she could escape Carina’s gaze — she kept staring at her as if she was trying to unravel a mystery.

Meredith, for her part, thought to herself that there was no mystery at all. She had been trying to convince herself that the reason why she liked having him around so much was because he was a great friend of the kids and nothing else. No... nothing else!

********************************************

Andrew had been living with them for a month now and time seemed to fly by since he was there. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and Andrew had had the idea to go on a picnic down the lake. He had prepared a huge basket of food and everything was so delicious that they had eaten until they were completely full up. Luckily, they had the opportunity to burn off their lunch, especially Andrew and the children who were having a whale of a time playing on the playground and also with some animals such as ducks, green frogs, turtles and squirrels. She was sitting on the picnic rug spread out on the lawn and was watching them, unable to concentrate on reading her book — in fact, it was the umpteenth time that she was rereading the same page. But a little inner voice told her:

_“You know damn well that it’s mostly him that you’re looking at!”_

Meredith sighed and tried to ignore that irritating little voice. After a while, Andrew came slumping down wearily next to her on the rug, dragging her out of her thoughts. She sat her book down to take a bottle of water that she handed him. He nodded voicelessly in thanks and removed the cap of the bottle before pushing himself up onto one elbow to quench his thirst.

“Thank you for doing all this for the kids; they’re having a lot of fun,” she said.

“No need to thank me, Meredith. It’s a real pleasure. I think I’m having even more fun than they are,” he replied with a smile. 

And it was true, Andrew told to himself. Meredith’s house, always full of the laughter of her three adorable children, reminded him of his childhood home in Italy and his joyful, carefree life back then. Sometimes, he really felt like he was back home. He felt really good in their company. Even Carina had noticed how much he had changed in such a short time. She told him so the other day in the cafeteria.

He sat up and added: 

“I’m happy to help out with the kids. It’s the least I can do. They’re so adorable! And they seem to love my music! They all want a guitar now,” he laughed. “You are all so nice to me. You and the kids… you saved me from myself. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably still be on that couch — or maybe I don’t know where. And I won’t forget either that you also saved Sam from being deported to El Salvador.” 

Andrew was surprised to see that he could mention Sam without it hurting him as much as before. For her part, Meredith felt her heart sink as she told to herself, “ _He still misses her,_ ” but she replied: 

“Oh, for that, you have Cristina Yang to thank. She’s delighted that Sam is working with her. I received a text from her today where she compares her to Shane”. 

“Who’s Shane?” 

“Dr. Shane Ross. A brilliant intern from Jo’s class whom Cristina had taken to Switzerland. I think he’s Sam’s mentor now.” 

Meredith didn’t think it was relevant to talk about Cristina’s relationship with Shane as it hadn’t lasted more than a year. But deep down, she knew it was because she didn’t want to talk about love affairs between attending and intern with him. This could sound weird and might even be interpreted as an invitation to flirt. No. Not when he was so close to her and she could barely restrain herself from reaching out her hand to put in its place the little curl of black hair that fell loosely across his forehead.

“Anyway, this is all thanks to you too, Meredith. I think I should take this opportunity to apologize for my behavior. Frankly, it was the most embarrassing chapter in my life.” 

“Don’t apologize; there’s nothing to forgive. You were going through a rough patch and I’m glad to have been able to help you snap out of it.”

“Now that I’m okay, I think it’s high time for me to start looking for a place.” 

Meredith’s heart sank when she heard these words. She realized that she didn’t want him to leave at all. So, she offered him: 

“Speaking of which, I think you can have Amelia’s room. She’s planning to move in with Owen in a few days to help out with Leo — Leo is her excuse of course; they’re definitely getting back together. Whenever she’d want to sleep over, she could crash in Maggie’s room — who’s never home either, anyway.” 

Moving in Amelia’s room meant staying longer. Nothing could make him happier. He had no desire to leave. It hadn’t taken him long to discover how much he loved the children’s company.

 _And also their mother’s company_ , an inner voice whispered to him.

“I would like to take Amelia’s room but if I have to stay longer than planned, I don’t want it to be rent-free. It’s already been a month that I’ve been imposing myself on you.” 

“Come on, don’t be ridiculous! We’re all very happy that you’re here” she scolded him. 

“Meredith...” he protested

“Okay, if you insist. You’re home now.”

She smiled at him and Andrew smiled back. Yes, he was home.

****************************************

Later in the evening, they had just finished dinner and Andrew was telling a story to the children sitting on the leaving room floor around him on their blankets, as he did every weekend. Settled on the sofa, Meredith was looking at them, moved to see how adorable they all looked together. The children have been so happy since he started to hang out with them.

She wondered what would happen when he left; how the children would react to his departure. He had become an important family member — who, ironically, was even more present than her sisters. Maggie was in the middle of the honeymoon period of her relationship with Jackson and was always under the duvet at his penthouse while Amelia, who was sleeping over at Owen’s almost every night as well, was about to move in with him to play house. He was also much more present than Alex. The kids have practically stopped asking for Uncle Alex like they used to since Andrew was there.

She had noticed that Alex was somewhat jealous of the children’s affection for Andrew. He had only come over twice since Andrew’s arrival and the last time was to invite them to his wedding with Jo. It looked like the two men were vying for the children’s attention. Alex never hesitate to use the Pediatric-Surgery-Chief-of-Staff card to intimidate a resident and, of course, when he did so, Andrew had no choice but to retreat, leaving the field open for him.

Slowly but surely, they had gotten into their little routine, and not just with the kids. Meredith couldn’t ignore the small voice that asked her how she was going to feel about him leaving. Because everyone ended up leaving. It was just a matter of time; she had learned that the hard way. 

Strikingly, there was a real bond between them. In just one month, that bond had become undeniable and was deepening every day. She found herself thinking about him when he was not around. He had the knack of making her laugh effortlessly. She felt so good in his presence. She had not been at ease like that with someone in ages! She felt so lonely before, despite the presence of her entire village. And all it took was Andrew coming along to change all that.

She even wondered if it was not dangerous to enjoy his company so much. It was as if Andrew had always been part of this house and deep inside, she knew she didn’t want it to change. She also knew that nothing would ever happen between them. And it was for the best, she thought.

The children’s laughter which echoed throughout the house dragged Meredith out of her thoughts and she turned her attention back to them. Andrew seemed to take as much pleasure as the kids in the story he was telling them. Meredith watched him imitate the voices of the characters — human and animal. He was overly expressive by using gestures to bring out the unspoken words — the thoughts and feelings of his characters — and make the kids laugh as he described the scenes. 

Meredith smiled, moved. She decided to go and join them. As soon as Andrew saw her approaching, he patted the spot next to him in order to invite her to sit down. She discovered too late that she had been trapped into imitating one of the characters’ voices when she heard Andrew exclaim: 

“And suddenly… the beautiful princess appeared!” 

The kids stared at her in amazement and uttered a high-pitched, piercing cry of joy mixed with surprise.

She had no choice but to play along with them. Unfortunately, she was not as good a storyteller as Andrew who had to whisper most of the lines to her. It was really hilarious… until Zola asked: 

“Is the prince going to kiss the princess?” 

Meredith automatically tensed up at those words and Andrew’s voice trailed off into silence. She couldn’t say how long she and Andrew had been staring at each other. There was something in his eyes that made her want to lose herself in his arms. She was dying for the prince to kiss her. She could have sworn that Andrew’s gaze had shifted to her lips and she blushed at the intensity of the look in his eye.

Thank God, Andrew quickly found his tongue and was able to stutter: 

“Uh! I think… we are going to leave that for the rest of the story… Some other time.” Then, their eyes met, and after a pause a little too long, his voice suddenly dropped low as he added: “Maybe.” 

There was something in his voice that made her heart beat fast. There was no longer any doubt: he was flirting with her! 

**Feels Like Home**

(Diana Krall - feat. Bryan Adams)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AidwZxOUhMo>

Something in your eyes  
Makes me wanna lose myself  
Makes me wanna lose myself  
In your arms  
There's something in your voice  
Makes my heart beat fast  
Hope this feeling last the rest of my life  
  
If you knew how lonely my life has been  
And how low I've felt for so long  
If you knew how  
I wanted someone to come along  
And change my life the way you've done  
  
Feels like home to me, feels like home to me  
Feels like I'm on my way back where I come from  
Feels like home to me, feels like home to me  
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong  
  
A window breaks, down a long, dark street  
And a siren wails in the night  
But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me  
And I can almost see, through the dark there is light  
  
If you knew how much this moment means to me  
And how long I've waited for your touch  
  
Feels like home to me, feels like home to me  
Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from  
Feels like home to me, feels like home to me  
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong  
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are moving slowly, so be patient. I am open to all comments. Thanks a lot for your kudos. 
> 
> See you soon.


	4. Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meredith and Andrew begin to realize that there is something between them without being able to say what it really is. There is no explaining for these butterflies that they both feel and that throw off reality by making it so confusing. Wouldn’t it be better to ignore them?
> 
> Butterflies, by William Black & Fairlane feat Dia Frampton

On certain days, being a doctor was more overwhelming than usual. Today was one such day for Meredith. She had just announced to a young 23-year-old woman that her mother, who was only 49 years old, had just a few weeks to live and that she would be gone long before she could welcome her granddaughter, who was due in three months.

She was standing in front of the elevator when she heard Andrew call out her name.

“Dr. Grey!” 

Spinning back around, she saw him moving at a jog towards her. He was holding a coffee in his left hand. He never called her by her given name when they were at work.

“Is your surgery over already? Wasn’t it supposed to last longer?” he asked her when he caught her up. 

But she didn’t need to answer him. He understood, by the look in her eye, that it had not gone well. He knew that she had become attached to the patient whom she had operated on for colon cancer few months ago because they sometimes discussed their difficult cases.

“Come with me,” he said with his accustomed gentleness.

He had held her hand to lead her into the elevator cab whose doors had just slid open. He pressed a button, but Meredith paid no attention to their destination. She was only aware of his hand holding hers; it was so soft and warm and reassuring. He was smiling at her, but he remained silent as the elevator rose to the selected floor. When the door slid open, she looked at him in astonishment and said: 

“On the rooftop? What are we doing on the rooftop?” 

“You need some fresh air. And some of that, too,” he said, as he handed her his coffee that he had already started on.

He had done it quite naturally, and it was also quite naturally that Meredith thanked him and took a few sips of the delicious hot beverage while walking a few steps. Then she handed him the coffee back and he drank some of it in turn, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to share the same coffee with Meredith Grey.

Meredith was now standing in front of the parapet. She was silent, and so was Andrew, who preferred to wait for her to speak. He knew that sometimes, losing a patient could upset you more than usual, especially when you couldn’t understand why the universe was so merciless. Why this teacher who will not be with her students next year? Why this little boy who wanted to become a firefighter? Why this veteran who will never get a chance to tell that lieutenant, who had served in his unit, that he was in love with him? Why this 18-year-old girl who had just been accepted to the university of her dreams? Why them, among all the patients who died every day on your watch? 

Meredith seemed to have zoned out, a sad-eyed expression on her face. And yet, she was so beautiful with her hair that was blowing in the wind. Andrew put his coffee down on the nearest spot he found before going to stand next to her, staring at the horizon. He was so close that their shoulders almost touched. After a couple of minutes, he heard her sigh and say softly: 

“On days like today, I hate being a doctor… There were too many metastases... She knew it might happen, but… she didn’t want to give up without fighting. She wanted so badly to see her granddaughter born and be there for her daughter, who’s going to be all alone now! Sadly, we had to close her up… She…” 

Her voice cracked, almost imperceptibly, but it didn’t escape Andrew’s notice.

“Hey, I’m so sorry, Mer,” he said straight away. He turned to face her and lifted her chin up so she could look at him. Then he added: “I’m sure you’ve done everything you could.”

Then, his hand slid over her shoulder which he soothingly rubbed in a gesture of comfort. Meredith Grey was a badass woman and an outstanding surgeon and seeing her vulnerable made her even more mysterious and amazing to him. It was one of the traits of her personality that he didn’t know yet; he was discovering new ones every day and getting to know her. He said:

“We can’t be a good doctor if we can’t feel things. Sometimes, we need to allow ourselves to crack a little bit just to remember why we’ve been doing this job. And when we do so — when we remember why we’ve been doing this job — we can only be thankful for being a doctor.”

Meredith met his gaze and she felt understood and not ashamed. His words reminded her of what Richard Webber and Miranda Bailey used to say to her when she was still a resident. She gave him a little smile, feeling comforted by his mere presence. And of course, she had noticed that it was the first time he had called her “Mer”. And she liked that.

It was so tempting to let herself go in his arms. Her body inched even closer to him as if it were moving on its own. She found herself cuddled up against him in a deep embrace, her left arm behind his back and her right palm on his chest. In turn, he placed one arm around her waist as he stroked her hair with his free hand without even wondering whether he was overstepping the bounds as it seemed so natural to him to reassure her in this way. He just couldn’t help it.

Meredith smelled his scent: “ _Um... I love his scent,”_ she told to herself. They stayed like this for over one minute. But suddenly, this chaste gesture, which was only meant to be friendly and comforting, was no longer chaste at all. A tingly feeling was creeping down Meredith’s spine. She felt her heart racing... but she was not the only one who felt that way. 

She looked up at him. Breathing deeply, Andrew remained standing and his eyes sparkled with desire. It was like a reflection of her own desire. His gaze then shifted to her lips and she couldn’t help looking at his as well. She remembered that he had said “ _maybe_ ” the prince would kiss the princess. That was a week ago, the night they were telling a story to the children together. And she hadn’t stopped thinking about it. What if this “ _maybe_ ” was today? She began to lean towards him while slowly rising on her tiptoe without taking her eyes off him... one more inch and... 

She startled at the sound of her pager which began to ring, soon followed by Andrew’s. They came back to reality. It was the pit. They pulled apart without saying a word to get back to work.

********************************************

There had been a serious accident: four teenagers who took their father’s car and crashed into another car with a family on their way to the airport — a middle-aged couple with their 25-year-old daughter, who was 34 weeks pregnant, and their son-in-law, who was going on a business trip. Bailey, Richard, Alex, Owen, Amelia, Maggie, Jackson, Carina and the new ortho — Dr. Lincoln — were all already at the pit when she and Andrew walked in. 

The mother was in a very critical condition as she was not wearing her seat belt and she had to be resuscitated in the emergency room. Her pregnant daughter, who was already in labor, had been crying out to the doctor to save her baby and her family.

As soon as Bailey entrusted the mother to Meredith, Andrew knew it was going to be difficult for her. He knew she wouldn’t be able to bear to see another grandmother die in the same day without knowing her granddaughter or grandson. Though he was not on Meredith’s service that day, he asked Bailey if he could join the operation. Fortunately, she had no objection.

The surgery lasted several hours and there seemed to be an escalation of complications. At one point, they had to page Ortho, and Dr. Lincoln temporarily fixed the bones in her thighs. Then they paged Neuro and Amelia managed to prevent the worst by reducing a cerebral edema. But two hours later, it was Cardio that they had to page. No one was available but they couldn’t afford the luxury of waiting and wasting precious minutes they did not have.

“Dr. Grey, she’s coding!” Andrew called out. 

Meredith did not react as if she had frozen up. She had had to completely remove the liver to repair the damage in her abdomen and was in the process of doing an auto-transplant with the part of the liver that Andrew had managed to save.

“Dr. Grey, if we don’t do a sternotomy right now, we’re going to lose her!”

But she was overly affected by the case and hesitated to make life-and-death calls. The patient already had her abdomen open not to mention her brain and her thighs. She could just use the defibrillator because if she did a sternotomy now, she could…

“Dr. Grey!” Andrew insisted. 

It was like she was unable to hear Andrew’s voice. So, Andrew leaned over to whisper her name: 

“Meredith!” 

She finally looked up at him. Andrew tried to give her some of his strength and optimism.

“Meredith... we’re not going to lose her. You got this. You are Wonder Woman.” 

Somehow, Andrew had managed to shake her out of this strange torpor that was numbing her mind. She nodded her head, stretched out her hand to Bohkee and said: 

“Scalpel!” 

Meredith Grey lived up to her reputation. The exceptional surgeon was back.

When she finished the anastomosis, her patient was still stable. All the doctors, residents and interns who were in the gallery and the surgical team of the operating room **—** including Andrew, who was first to do so by the way **—** began to applaud.

Meredith’s smile, albeit hidden by her surgical mask, reached her eyes.

“Finally, on second thought, I love being a doctor,” she said to Andrew. 

The rest of the world faded when they locked eyes with each other as though their souls were connected. There were joy and awe in Andrew’s eyes and relief and gratitude in Meredith’s. She knew she couldn’t have succeeded without Andrew’s help. It was a victory for both of them. She said to him: 

“Thank you for the assist, Dr. Deluca.” 

********************************************

Meredith was in the attendings’ lounge waiting for Andrew so they could get back home together. She was reflecting on that grueling day and had to acknowledge that he was the one who had helped her cope with it. He was with her when she needed him this morning on the rooftop and then in the OR. He could be so caring and so strong at the same time. She was amazed at how much she liked it when he was there and how much she needed him when he wasn’t there.

He had been living at her house for five weeks and she couldn’t remember the days when he was not around. The children swore only by him now and she... she couldn’t stop thinking about him all day long, especially since that famous evening when he had flirted with her and hinted that he might kiss her. When they didn’t have the same work schedule, she would keep on checking the time, watching out for his car and she would get restless.

But it was all part of a long list of things she had noticed in the last few weeks that she couldn’t explain: the butterflies fluttering in her belly when he inadvertently brushed her hand or her arm; the redness that suddenly crept up her cheeks when he caught her looking at him; her heart that pounded at the mere sound of his baritone voice or the sound of his footsteps; the way she was acting restless when he was standing too close to her; her silly little laugh every time he spoke as she hang on his every word (he had such a sense of humor!); her smile whenever she saw him laughing with the children or when she saw him walking up the stairs with a sleeping Ellis in his arms to get her into bed; her look filled with pride when he stood out in the OR like he did today, showing what a brilliant surgeon he already was; the little pang of pain she felt in her chest when she saw him staring into space wondering if in those moments his thoughts were not in Switzerland… 

And what about the tension between them which was becoming more and more palpable. This morning, she almost kissed him! What on earth was she thinking? He was her resident and also her sister’s ex! What did he do to her? 

Meredith sighed. She had to admit to herself that even though she didn’t really know what was happening to her yet, there was still something between her and Andrew. Something that didn’t seem to have escaped their sisters’ notice. Indeed, Maggie and Amelia acted weirdly and made silly remarks whenever they saw them together, not to mention their whispering and their knowing smiles that made her feel uncomfortable each time. As for Carina, every time she spotted her, she would come to say hello and check on Andrew — as if she couldn’t call her own brother to talk to him in person.

Meredith was lost in thought and did not notice Andrew’s presence. She ended up feeling observed and turned her head. She blushed when she saw him standing on the doorstep and staring at her with his intense gaze. 

_He can’t guess that you were thinking about him_ , she rationalized to herself.

“Ready?” he asked as he approached her with a soft smile on the corner of his mouth, his backpack on his shoulder.

She was used to seeing him without his blue scrub, so her heart should not have been racing that way. But he looked so sexy in his black street clothes! She had lost all her self-confidence as soon as he entered the room. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her nervousness. Meredith swallowed before answering: 

“Uh... yeah, sure.” 

“May I?” he said as he reached out his hand to help her get up.

She felt a shiver run through her whole body. He then helped her put on her coat. He held it behind her so that she could easily slide her arms into it and then he pulled it over her shoulders. She tossed back her hair so that he could adjust her collar. He was looking into her eyes with such tenderness that Meredith was feeling breathless and tried to avoid his gaze. She was powerless against its magnetism and fluttered at the faint smell of his _eau de Cologne_. No other resident would have dare to make this gesture which, even if it might seem purely courteous, was no less a familiar gesture.

Things became definitely intimate when he briefly put his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the room. Meredith knew he was just being protective knowing that she had had a tough day, but his touch still made her feel a tingling sensation somewhere inside her. Fortunately for her, he quickly removed his hand, perhaps because he remembered that they were at the hospital or perhaps, like her, he had also felt a kind of burn at that simple touch which reminded them both that they had almost kissed this morning on the rooftop.

She followed him to the parking lot. There was a soft rain and Andrew held her hand so they could hurry to reach the car. And of course, the butterflies in her belly were back. There was no ignoring them any longer.

Despite the rain, he took the time to open the door for her first before going to settle behind the wheel, not worrying about being drenched to the skin. They were both exhausted after such a day — they had spent eight hours in the OR fighting to save their patient’s life. It was a good excuse to remain silent on the way home and then go straight up to her room with a cold meal when she got home. Yes, it’s best to ignore this tension between them, she thought.

********************************************

Andrew, for his part, was lying on his bed and fixing the ceiling — he had move in Amelia’s room a few days ago as she had moved in with Hunt. He was thinking about what had happened on the rooftop and couldn’t fall asleep.

Meredith Grey almost kissed him! — or he almost kissed her, it was hard to tell. Perhaps he had just dreamed of her body pressed against him and their lips a breath away from touching. At the very moment when he was going to lean over to taste her lips, so tempting, so sensual, their pagers had started ringing. Maybe that had prevented him from making a fool of himself because it was impossible that Meredith Grey could be interested in him.

What had happened certainly meant nothing to her. It was a matter of chance that he was there while she was sad and needed a friend. That happened all the time in their profession. Andrew didn’t even know if she considered him a friend, but for the moment, he seemed to have done the trick. That was the only possible explanation. There was no need to look any further. And, seeing the sadness in her beautiful blue eyes had awakened in him a kind of protective instinct, even though Meredith was the strongest woman he had ever met. He wanted to hold her and comfort her. He couldn’t help himself. He also had to be in the OR with her today to watch over her and make sure she was fine.

This feeling was new to him and it was a little confusing. He rarely thought about Sam and he knew why. He knew he was starting to forget her. She was sort of fading away. When he closed his eyes, her face was replaced by the face of another woman with blue eyes and blond hair. The one he was thinking about at that very moment. Images of her were playing in his mind like a movie:

Meredith laughing at one of his anecdotes from when he was in med school while he was captivated by her laughter. He had never heard a more beautiful one.

Meredith who was digging in the delicious spaghetti he had prepared while he could not resist the urge to reach out to wipe the Bolognese sauce off her cheek with his thumb. She had smiled at him with her beautiful eyes and had not seemed to mind him behaving in such a familiar manner.

Meredith sitting next to him on the grass in the park playing with the kids. She had winked at him, amused, when an elderly couple told them that they were a charming family. He had felt a feeling of joy mixed with pride.

Meredith dressed in her shorts doing housework while he was unable to take his eyes off her slim body and her shapely legs. It had been impossible to ignore his desire, especially when, wanting to help her, he went to take the clothes out from the dryer and came across her panties! His dreams have been haunted by her ever since. 

Meredith Grey falling asleep in his arms on the couch while they were watching _Sleepless in Seattle_. Before dropping off in turn, he had watched her for a while, overwhelmed by the desire to rock her and take care of her. Always.

Yes, there was definitely something between them. His stomach was doing some pretty weird things when she was there.

That night, when Andrew finally fell asleep, he dreamed that he was holding Meredith’s hand to take her to the hospital rooftop. There was champagne... but strangely enough, there were no glasses. They drank from the pink plastic glasses reserved for patients. She was nervous... until he kissed her passionately under the stars.

They never knew it, but at the same time, Meredith was having the exact same dream!

**Butterflies**  
(William Black & Fairlane ft. Dia Frampton)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BBCg82L9gk>

  
**[Verse 1]**

Light-headed, on edge  
Why am I breathless?  
Too late to pretend  
I’m not acting reckless  
  
 **[** **Pre-Chorus** **]**

What you do to me?  
The tension is waking little wings  
You went and you messed up my gravity, threw off reality  
Now I’m so restless  
I was afraid that I’d never feel like  
My heart went through the ceiling  
You got me shaking and I don’t know why  
What a funny kind of feeling  
Trying to fight it, then we collided  
And I kind of like it, I never knew  
Guess what I’m saying is  
There’s no explaining  
  
 **[** **Chorus** **]**

You brought back the butterflies  
You brought back the butterflies  
  
 **[Verse 2]**

Out of the blue  
Knock me off balance  
Stumble into you  
Is this how it happens?  
  
 **[** **Pre-Chorus** **]**

**[** **Chorus** **] (bis)…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks for your kudos and your kind comments that encourage me to continue.
> 
> See you soon!


	5. Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those who really know Meredith and Andrew are not blind to what is going on between them. Meredith’s sisters even think that a little help won’t hurt them both and decide to play matchmakers, making things even more complicated than they already are.
> 
> Complicated, by Carolyn Dawn Johnson

Meredith had been paged for an emergency surgery very early the next morning. She had left the house at dawn after leaving a little note for Andrew to get the children ready for school and daycare because her sisters, as is often the case these days, weren’t there. That was timely though, since she wanted to avoid him at all costs this morning after what had happened on the hospital’s rooftop, yesterday. As she was prepping to enter the OR, she had asked Helm to call him to make sure that he had gotten her note.

Once her operation was over, she took refuge in her lab, too tired to go to grab a coffee. Hearing footsteps, she looked towards the door and saw Alex entering the lab.

“Oh, it’s you!” she said. 

“You were expecting someone else, apparently. Sorry to disappoint you,” he said, plumping down on the chair next to her. 

“Don’t be silly!” 

But she knew deep down that she was indeed hoping to see Andrew. 

_Didn’t you want to avoid him, in fact? You should know what you want, girl._

“You started at dawn today, it seems? I ran into your resident with the kids this morning. I wonder why this dude is still crashing at your place.”

Alex noticed how she started fidgeting nervously with her pen as soon as he mentioned Deluca. The guy was also pretty weird this morning when he had met him and asked after Meredith. He recalled a few other weird things that had happened lately that his mind had refused to even consider as something that might be going on.

Meredith Grey had a crush on a resident! He didn’t know whether he should yell at her or laugh at her. And, somehow, he must have gotten used to this whole “ _person_ ” thing because he thought that, with everything and everyone she had lost in her life, she had earned the right to pick and choose whoever she wanted to let in. And he also thought that she could really use some fun now in her life.

As she didn’t answer, he asked her:

“Are you two sleeping together?” 

“Alex! she huffed, hoping that her offended look was credible enough. “Don’t you dare say those kinds of things! It’s… inappropriate. I would never do such a thing to Maggie.”

“Maggie? She doesn’t care,” he shrugged. 

“What do you mean she doesn’t care? It’s her ex.” 

“People have been spreading malicious gossip about her being with her so-called half-brother.” 

“Jackson’s not her brother. People are talking nonsense!” 

“That’s what I’m saying. She doesn’t care what people say. You should take a cue from her.” 

“Alex, Andrew’s like a family friend now. He’s gotten very close to the kids and he is of great help to me. Now that you’re getting married and are going to spend all your time looking after babies soon, you’ll have less time for us. I think it will do me good to have a new friend. I don’t need any complications in my life.”

“Mer, I will always be there for you; I’m your person. What will do you good… is to get laid; it’s been a while!” he said. 

Meredith glared at him.

“You know you’re still _Evil Spawn_ , you know that?” 

Alex burst out laughing at how his simple words made her shift restlessly in her chair. He knew his friend very well and knew that if he insisted too much, she might dig in her heels. Seeing her pouting, he got up to leave and said:

“In any case, if you feel like biting into that, I’m not going to judge you — I’m getting married to a resident!”

“I’m not going to bite into anyone!” she hissed.

 _However mouth_ - _watering_ _he is!_

Andrew chose that precise moment to poke his head around the door to see if she was there and her heart skipped a beat. 

_Oh my God, it’s him!_

She hoped he hadn’t heard anything.

“Uh… Hi… uh, sorry… I just stopped by to bring you a coffee,” said Andrew, who seemed hesitant to approach. 

“Hi!” greeted Meredith, unable to hide the hint of excitement in her voice. 

Alex didn’t make it easy. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at them silently. Andrew greeted him with a nod as he walked towards Meredith with a smile. He handed her the coffee and also a muffin, and he said:

“Here, you left on an empty stomach this morning.” 

Meredith held out her hands to take them and met his soft gaze.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing. 

_I should totally bite into this muffin!_

Alex had noticed the way they looked at each other and couldn’t get over it! There were a lot of vibes between them. When did that happen?

“Very thoughtful, the resident!” he said in his accustomed gruff tone.

Then, he spun round and walked away, not without giving Meredith a teasing look as if to say, “ _Go ahead!”_

Meredith was hoping that the way she felt was not written all over her face. So, she tried to act normal and took a sip of her coffee with delight. 

“Hmm… I really needed some coffee, thank you,” she said. 

“So, how did your surgery go?” he asked, as he sat down next to her on the chair that Alex had occupied a few moments ago. 

“Everything went well, thanks,” Meredith replied. She explained the procedure to him, trying to be professional so she could forget that he was so close. 

For his part, Andrew gave her an update on the post-op of their patient from the day before, which he had just finished. She had been recovering very well, and he had taken her daughter and grandson to see her. Meredith wished she could have been there to see the family reunited. Carina had done a great job yesterday in saving the life of this baby in distress after the accident. Meredith did not fail to tell her so when she had bumped into her as she was coming out of the OR after she had operated on the grandmother herself, and Carina had seemed very pleased with the compliment.

“Aren’t you going to eat your muffin? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Doctor. Go ahead!” Andrew nudged her to eat as he often did with the kids. 

Sometimes, he treated her like one of them and she had to admit that it was not at all unpleasant to be pampered by someone. Meredith therefore gladly obeyed. No wonder he was able to get everything he wanted from the children, she thought. It was impossible to resist him when he smiled and tilted his head to one side like he had just done.

One bite into her muffin and her face lit up like a greedy little girl. Then, putting her left hand in front of her mouth full, she mumbled:

“Hmm! With blueberries! I love it!” 

Andrew couldn’t help but laugh when he saw her devouring her blubbery muffin without caring about the crumbs on her scrub.

“You’re making a mess! Looks like Ellis. You should have seen the kitchen floor covered with cereal this morning after breakfast!” 

Meredith could easily picture her daughter giving him a hard time this morning and couldn’t stop laughing as he started to tell her about their eventful breakfast. He looked like a proud father fond of recounting the last adorable silly things of his youngest child. Meredith was happy to be able to count on him whenever she needed someone to watch her kids. She trusted him with her kids — her most treasured possessions — because she knew without a doubt that they were safe with him.

As he spoke, Andrew rolled his chair closer to her until their knees touched. He reached out his hand and leaned over to remove a crumb from the top of her scrub, right between her two breasts. As Andrew’s hand lingered longer than necessary on her chest, Meredith’s laughter trailed off and her breathing quickened. Andrew’s eyes sparkled when he looked into her eyes and…

She startled when she heard someone clearing his throat. She knew who it was before she even turned around as Andrew hurriedly removed his hand from her chest.

_Maggie!_

Maggie was staring at them, but they couldn’t hold her gaze and were getting flustered. Andrew quickly excused himself by mumbling something about his post-ops.

Maggie forgot why she was looking for Meredith and asked her:

“Mer... is there something going on between you two?” 

Meredith expected her to be upset, even pissed, remembering her reaction when she had learned about Nathan, but judging by the tone of her voice, she didn’t seem to be so.

“What? What do you mean?” she replied, a bit defensively, anyway. 

“I’m asking you if there’s something going on between you and Andrew?” she repeated enunciating each word slowly. 

There was something in her demeanor and her smile which suggested that she already knew the answer and was fine with the idea. Meredith was puzzled by her reaction and somehow relieved that she was not making her feel guilty about anything, but she still wasn’t ready to acknowledge anything.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing going on.” 

“Mer, that thing between you two is _anything_ but _nothing._ I live with you, remember?”

“Maggie, he’s my student… don’t be ridiculous.” 

“You’re the one who’s being ridiculous. He’s your student, so what?” 

Meredith couldn’t understand her. Andrew was her resident, but he also happened to be her sister’s ex. It looked like Maggie had completely forgotten this “detail”. But Meredith felt uncomfortable pointing that out to her. It would come back to her soon enough if people started gossiping. And you could always count on them for that.

“I… I have to go to see my patient in the recovery room,” she added, turning on her heels suddenly.

She was obviously running away but she didn’t care. Maggie was the last person she wanted to talk to about Andrew Deluca and how she felt for him.

********************************************

Unfortunately, she had reckoned without Maggie’s tenacity, who decided to bring up the subject again during their lunch break. Meredith had skipped breakfast because of her morning surgery and was starving. However, on entering the cafeteria, she wished she had waited another half hour to take her break when she saw Maggie and Amelia finishing their meals. She had no choice but to join them at their table after filling her tray.

As soon as she sat down, she knew, from their smiles and their knowing looks, that she was not going to be able to escape their inquisition. Maggie had apparently told Amelia everything. They stared at her wordlessly as if they expected her to confess something. But Meredith had no intention to play along with them. They could whistle for it! She’d rather talk about something light-hearted. Like Alex’s wedding, for example. So, she said:

“I just ran into Alex and Jo and I still can’t believe _Evil Spawn_ is getting married! It’s only a week away!” 

No answer.

“I heard Kepner’s the wedding planner,” Meredith continued. 

Still no response — if you didn’t count Maggie’s exasperated sigh.

“This is going to be crazy, isn’t it? I mean, seriously guys, who chooses Kepner as their wedding planner!” she said emitting a forced laugh.

But her sisters did not even smile. They let themselves go in the same movement against the back of their chairs and crossed their arms over their chest, still staring at her without saying a word.

Eventually, they wore her down. She rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance. Realizing that she was not going to be able to skirt around the subject, Meredith huffed:

“I have nothing to say, because… because there’s nothing to say!”

Maggie finally deigned to answer:

“I very much doubt that you have nothing to say. You might be blind, Mer, but we aren’t.” 

Amelia added: 

“Meredith, I know you’ve been complaining that we’re rarely home these days, but I can tell you that all it takes to understand is one glance at the two of you and the image of the perfect little family that you project when you’re with the kids.” 

“Understand what?” 

“That you’re crushing hard for each other!” 

“Amelia!” Meredith interjected. 

Then, Maggie intervened: 

“Listen Mer, before you get on your high horse and give us your crappy reasoning, let me tell you that you don’t have to fight your feelings for fear of what people will think. It doesn’t matter if people say that you’re like siblings.” 

“Maggie, you wouldn’t happen to be projecting your own feelings, would you?” Amelia pointed out.

“Whatever! What I’m saying, Mer, is that no one cares if he’s your resident.” 

Meredith couldn’t refrain from asking her any longer: 

“Am I to understand that you don’t care that he’s also your ex-boyfriend?” 

Maggie looked genuinely surprised at her question.

“Meredith, there has never had anything serious between us and you know that! It’s ancient history. It’s not up to me to choose who Andrew can or can’t be with. I’m happy with Jackson. Truly happy. I have no right to stand in the way of your happiness. You’re more smiling and radiant than you’ve ever been since the day he came home.”

“Maybe. But that’s because he’s so good to the kids. He has become their best friend. Why wouldn’t we be friends, too, he and I?” Meredith said with a shrug. “I even think that we already are.” 

“Friends? Have you seen the way you look at each other?” Amelia asked her.

Maggie looked at her sister and took her hand before saying with a smile:

“Mer, if you feel something for him, don’t suppress it… don’t deny it because of me. I beg you, Mer, do not do that _because_ _of_ _me_. The only thing that can make me happier than I am right now is knowing that you’re happy too.” 

Meredith was moved almost to tears by her sister’s words, but she quickly regained her composure and said to her:

“Maggie… as weird as it sounds to see you pushing me into your ex’s arms **—** trust me, I’m touched, and I thank you for that **—** I don’t think this could work between us. Not to mention that fate always seems to be against me.” 

“Fate doesn’t need to do anything against you, Mer. You manage very well on your own to keep happiness at bay by running away from love!” 

“Wow! That’s such a big word, Maggie! I’m… I’m not ready. And… he’s certainly even less so.” 

Amelia was staring at a spot behind Meredith and said: 

“Trust me, he’s ready. He just doesn’t know it yet, that’s all. If you want, we can also give him a little help to open his eyes.” 

“What are you talking about?” Meredith asked. 

“There he is. And he keeps glancing at our table,” Amelia answered. 

Before Meredith could protest, Amelia was already waving Andrew over. He nodded to them as he was about to queue at the cash register.

“Damn it! Amelia!” 

“What’s your problem, Meredith? It’s obvious that you have a crush on him. You just got Maggie’s blessing to go all the way with him. And you only have to look at him to understand why Maggie recommends him to you so highly. Come on, I dare you to say that you haven’t already fantasized about that sexy Italian guy lying on your couch.” 

“Nonsense!” she hissed.

But seeing how Meredith couldn’t hold her gaze, Amelia murmured: 

“I knew it! I knew it!” 

“If you start playing matchmakers, I’m warning you guys, I’m going to kill you! I’m not kidding! That’s the last thing I need right now. Besides, I want for nothing. I have my kids; I have both of you **—** even if you can be like real pain in my ass sometimes; I have Alex and a whole village… Really… I don’t need anything else.” 

Amelia retorted: 

“You need sex Mer. You need hot sex! And on that point, I can assure you that the reputation of the Italians is not overrated at all! Take it from me.” 

“Oh my God! You too? Did you…” Meredith stammered, letting out a strangled gasp.

_No! Not her two sisters for God’s sake!_

“What? No! I didn’t mean… Oh my God… Deluca? No! That goes back to when I was in Med school, Mer. But to be completely honest, I must admit that I once had a crush on Dr. Deluca.” She leaned over to whisper, “Dr. Carina Deluca.” 

Secretly amazed to discover that Amelia was much more open-minded about sex than she thought, Maggie exclaimed: 

“Oh! I didn’t see that coming!” 

Meredith rolled her eyes as her sisters started to laugh. But suddenly, they went all quiet when they saw Andrew walking towards them. Meredith began to fidget in her chair as he approached. He greeted them reverentially.

“Dr. Pierce, Dr. Shepherd... Dr. Grey!” 

Even if he had called her “Mer” or “honey” it wouldn’t have sounded more intimate and more sensual than that drawling way of saying “ _Dr. Grey”_ after that little pause, that little smile addressed exclusively to her. Obviously, her sisters had noted that, too.

Meredith nodded at him and pretended to be completely absorbed by the contents of her tray. A brief silence settled between them. The looks and smiles of her sisters did not help her feel comfortable. Her face reddened, even more so than if she were in a sauna. She noticed that Andrew wasn’t feeling at ease either. In an attempt to break the silence, he cleared his throat and said:

“What’s up?” 

Maggie replied:

“We were talking about wedding… Wedding between attending and residents. I think it’s so lovely! I know… I can be overly sentimental, even cheesy sometimes, but I love weddings.” 

_Ah, those two… I’m really going to kill them!_

“Uh… wedding?” Andrew asked, visibly puzzled. 

“Jo and Alex’s wedding. I thought you were invited?” 

“Oh!” said Andrew, who had finally caught on. “Yeah, oddly enough, I am,” he confirmed.

“And… are you planning to go?” Amelia asked, exchanging a knowing glance with Maggie.

Meredith figured out immediately what they were up to, but she didn’t need such a complication in her life. It was already so complicated!

“Amelia, Andrew might not want to go. You know his history with the bride and groom,” she said.

But surprisingly, Andrew answered: 

“Actually, I think it’s high time that we definitely wiped the slate clean and moved on. This is the perfect opportunity. I’m going to go.”

“Do you have a plus-one?” Amelia asked as innocently as she could.

Meredith wished there was a hiding place when Andrew glanced at her quickly before answering:

“Uh… No. I do not.”

“You know, it could be just a friend,” Amelia went on.

“I don’t really have any friends that haven’t already been invited.”

“Great! Meredith was just saying that she didn’t have a plus-one either to go with her. I think she just found one!” Maggie said. 

It took Andrew a second to realize that he was the plus-one in question, and he was surprised by Maggie’s suggestion. He had seen her surprise earlier when she had witnessed that special moment between him and Meredith. He had to admit that it had been quite embarrassing. He wasn’t sure what she had in the back of her mind, but the idea of being Meredith’s plus-one **—** even if it wasn’t really a date **—** appealed to him too much to pass up such an opportunity.

His voice seemed to have drop very low when he said:

“It would be my pleasure to be your plus-one, Dr. Grey, if I may.” 

He looked up at Meredith to see if she was okay with it. Noticing her hesitation, he thought that she might be looking for her words to politely decline his offer. He realized that it was just wishful thinking to hope that Meredith Grey might have been interested in him. Carina had teased him about it this very morning when she had run into him at the coffee stand buying coffee and muffin for Meredith. She had also noticed that he couldn’t help but bring out her name into the conversation. His sister was sure he was going to make a fool of himself over his lady boss and that was exactly what he had just done. So, he held his breath while waiting for her answer.

Meredith for her part would have liked to decline his invitation, just to put her sisters in their place. But Maggie nudged her with her knees, and Amelia stared at her as if to dare her to refuse. Those two could make the situation even more embarrassing if she didn’t give in, she told to herself. And she wanted to convince herself that it had nothing to do with the fact that she was dying to go to the wedding with him. No, not at all.

She heard herself say:

“Why not? I’d like to.” 

A dazzling smile flashed across Andrew’s face. She couldn’t help but grin back at him. Whenever she met his gaze, she smiled. Even when she was only thinking about him, she smiled. She barely noticed the departure of her sisters, who left them alone as soon as their mission as matchmakers was accomplished. They finished their lunch almost in silence, smiling and casting lingering looks at each other from time to time, fully aware of the surge of feelings that overwhelmed them and which they would never be able to ignore, ever again.

**Complicated**

(Carolyn Dawn Johnson)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7nnIf6cNo>

  
**[Verse 1]**

I’m so scared that the way that I feel is written all over my face  
When you walk into the room I wanna find a hiding place.  
We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do.  
But now a smile and a touch of your hand just makes me come unglued.  
It’s such a contradiction  
Do I lie or tell the truth?  
Is it fact or fiction?  
Oh, the way I feel for you.

  
 **[Chorus]**  
It’s so complicated  
I’m so frustrated,  
I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away,  
I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.  
Should I say it?  
Should I tell you how I feel?  
Oh, I want you to know, but then again I don’t,  
It’s so complicated.  
  


 **[Verse 2]** **  
**Just when I think I’m under control, I think I finally got a grip,  
Another friend tells me that my name is always on your lips.  
They say I’m more than just a friend, they say I must be blind.  
Well, I admit that I’ve seen you watch me from the corner of your eye.  
Oh, it’s so confusing,  
Yeah, I wish you’d just confess.  
But think of what I’d be losing,  
If your answer wasn’t yes.  
  
 **[Chorus]** **…**  
  
 **[Bridge]**  
I hate it  
Cause I’ve waited so long for someone like you.  
What do I do?  
  
Oh, Should I say it?  
Should I tell you how I feel?  
Oh, I want you to know, but then again I don’t.  
It’s so complicated (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are definitely getting more complicated! See you at the wedding in the next chapter. Please, please, please, don’t forget to leave me a brief comment if you liked it (or not)!
> 
> I know this week is special because Merluca is finally back on our screens! I really liked the Season Premiere. I’m happy to see how much Meredith cares about Andrew and helps him getting better. He looks great in his navy-blue scrubs! And, I don’t know if you have noticed it, but they were totally flirting in their last scene! I hope Derek will give her his blessing to move on and I hope he will tell her to choose Andrew (in a roundabout way of course, like Natasha did when she told her to kiss the one who turned back time for her). Meredith being infected with the virus is going to be very upsetting for Andrew. I hope she will wake up when she hears Andrew’s voice telling her that he loves her and needs her. And, who knows, maybe Andrew will save her by diagnosing a complication caused by the virus!
> 
> See you soon!


	6. A Kiss to Build a Dream On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not without a certain nervousness that Meredith and Andrew are about to attend Alex’s wedding together. For it’s well known that when you are at a wedding with someone you have a crush on, you tend to get emotional, analyze your own feelings, dream, fantasize and maybe even get a bit… bolder?
> 
> A Kiss to Build a Dream On, by Jill Barber

The wedding day had finally arrived. Alex and Arizona had shown up at Meredith’s in the morning and the house was a mess. Andrew had agreed to meet with Meredith directly at the wedding, preferring to go there with his sister and leave her alone with her best friend — he was never very comfortable with Alex anyway.

As soon as he arrived on the small island where the wedding was to take place, he began to look around for her. Like half the guests, he was very late because they got lost and found themselves attending another wedding. He finally spotted Meredith in a beautiful long blue dress. Wow! She was so beautiful that she took his breath away! The dress subtly brought out every curves of her slender body. A body he couldn’t stop dreaming about at night, lying alone on his bed thinking about her. There was such sensuality emanating from her! 

She was talking to Alex. He was hesitant to go and join her. They had never really talked about this whole plus-one thing after their lunch in the cafeteria with her sisters last week, and Andrew has been wondering if she hadn’t agreed just to avoid being rude. In any case, things had never been the same since then. Her demeanor had completely changed by the time they got home that evening. He remembered that she was sitting on the couch and had suddenly stood up to go back to her room as soon as he had joined her, whereas she usually greeted him with a big smile and stayed up late chatting with him before going to bed.

She spent her time avoiding him, retreating to her room or to the kids’ room when she was at home, even going so far as to end their habit to carpool to work under the pretext that she had to pick up Jo, sometimes Alex, whom she was helping with the wedding preparations. Andrew would take his own car, but he knew it was an excuse, since Kepner made it known to everyone that she had to take care of everything and that she had never seen brides and grooms so disinterested in their own wedding ceremony.

Andrew realized that he was staring at her when he heard a voice behind him saying:

“So… do you like her?”

He turned around and see Maggie who was smiling at him.

“Like who?” he asked

“My sister, idiot!”

“Uh! what? Why... um... why are you asking me that?” he stuttered.

Maggie looked at him and what she saw in his eyes left no doubt in her mind — if she ever had any.

“That’s what I thought... you like her!” she exclaimed.

Andrew wasn’t sure what to say.

“Maggie... are you really trying to fix me up with your sister? With... our history?”

“Andrew, our history is ancient!”

“Yes, but… why?” he insisted.

“Because you’ve never looked at me the way you look at her. And also, because there’s something that’s been lighting her up lately and I think it’s you. I think… she likes you, too.”

“I don’t think so, no. Me and your sister… that’s not going to happen!” said Andrew in a desperate tone.

“Why wouldn’t that happen? Anyway, you’ll never know if you stand there instead of going to join her like you are obviously dying to. Just go for it! You’re her plus-one, aren’t you?” Maggie encouraged him. “I have to go rescue Jackson, who’s in a strange conversation with Matthew over there.”

Andrew looked in the direction she pointed and understood what she meant when he saw the two men. He smiled at Maggie and said:

“You’ve never looked at me the way you look at him either, you know. Go... and... Thank you, Maggie.”

Maggie touched his arm and said:

“Good luck!”

After having hesitated for a moment, he decided to go and talk to her when he saw that Alex was about to leave. He needed to know if Maggie was right or if she was going to keep avoiding him. Andrew’s doubts were confirmed as Meredith quickly spun around and strode purposefully away when she saw him approaching! She made no bones about it. He couldn’t get over it! Maggie didn’t know her sister as well as she thought she did.

He told to himself that he could really use a drink and headed towards the bar. Qadri invited him to join the small group of interns — Helm, Schmitt and Parker — who were obviously enjoying the free drinks a little too much. He accepted with fake enthusiasm since the only person he wanted to be with seemed to have made it a point of honor to run away from him. 

He seemed to have a knack for being attracted only to women who were beyond his reach, either because they had been deported to Switzerland or because they were award-winning surgeons who did not date residents. He felt bad about forgetting Sam so quickly, but he couldn’t fight what he felt for Meredith.

He had overheard Meredith and Alex talking to Cristina Yang this morning and that was when he realized that he hadn’t thought about Sam in quite some time. He had only spoken to her once since she had gone to Switzerland. It seemed that he had really moved on, as she had advised him to do that day. He hoped she had done that too. She deserved it.

As he was not one to get drunk, after a couple of shots and a beer, he preferred not to stay at the bar so as not to drink at the same pace as the interns. The latter were all bound to get a real snootful by the end of the ceremony if the waiter kept refilling their glasses like that. Feeling a little lonely, Andrew moved away from the crowd to look around the splendid garden that surrounded him. 

********************************************

Clearly, Meredith was not having a good time at the wedding at all. She had been shocked this morning when she had learned that Alex and Jo were leaving for Boston. She had even offered Jo an attending job in her department at _Grey-Sloan_ in an attempt to keep them in Seattle. Of course, she regretted it immediately afterwards — to be frank, it was Richard who lectured her about it. But she understood that she had no right to stand in the way of Jo’s career, just because she didn’t want to lose her person. 

Alex knew her better than anyone else. What would become of her without him? She was afraid to be alone when she had just gotten happy in a world without Cristina and without Derek. She pretended to ignore the inner voice that told her that this might have something to do with a certain resident. 

She was sipping a glass of bourbon, standing on the large terrace, when Alex approached her.

“It will soon be Maggie and Amelia’s turn to get married and then it will be official: I will be really all alone!” she said to him, trying to not sound too sad so he wouldn’t feel bad about leaving.

“In that case, you’ll just have to get married too,” Alex replied. 

“You’re the second person to give me that sound advice today. But no, thank you.” 

“Who’s this very wise person? Jo or Arizona?” 

“No, it was Zola.” 

She then told him about a conversation she had had with her daughter while she was doing her hair for the wedding. Alex’s voice suddenly became very serious when he said:

“Zola’s right, you know. I know you miss Derek, but it’s not betraying him or being greedy if you fall in love again and remarry. I’m sure that’s what he would like too; he would like to see you happy. You can be sure that I wouldn’t miss that wedding for the world.”

“If you have to come back to Seattle only for my wedding, that means that I’ll never see you again because that’s very unlikely to happen.” 

“Indeed, that’s not likely to happen,” he quipped. “For that, you have to start by going out with someone first.” 

“Will you stop that? You’re getting worse than Cristina. I’m not interested in going out with anyone.” 

“Not even with that handsome Italian that you can’t take your eyes off? I saw how you looked at each other this morning.”

“Now, I understand why Cristina tried to worm some kind of confession out of me about Andrew this morning. Did you tell her anything?” 

“So what? You like him, don’t you?”

“No!” she lied. 

“Well, anyway, he’s got a massive crush on you, and I’ll bet my bottom dollar on it!” 

Meredith let out a long sigh. She probably won’t admit it to her sisters, but Alex was her person and she could tell him anything.

“OK, I kind of have a crush on him, too. Is that what you wanted me to say?” she barked. But her friend didn’t take offense and laughed instead. Meredith immediately began to smile, and she added in a dreamy tone, “He’s sexy... and he’s fun... but... but it’s complicated. He has a girlfriend in Switzerland.”

“That doesn’t stop him from ogling your ass in that gorgeous close-fitting dress that you’re wearing.”

“Stop doing your _Evil Spawn_ , Alex!” 

“I assure you. He’s over there. At three o’clock. And he’s ogling your ass!” 

Meredith caught a glance to her right. There he was, indeed, in the middle of a conversation with Maggie. He was so sexy in his suit!

“Close your mouth Meredith…” Alex teased her. 

“Shut up, Alex! What on earth is wrong with all of you for wanting to set me up? Maggie and Amelia are driving me crazy enough by playing matchmakers, so please, don’t.” 

“I’m not asking you to marry him; I just want you to have fun, Mer. You deserve it. I don’t want you to be sad after I leave. Go out, meet new people, enjoy your life! He wouldn’t be the most inappropriate guy you’d sleep with, anyway.”

“I’m going to tell April that the wedding is called off. There’s no way I’m letting Jo marry _Evil Spawn!_ ” 

Alex burst out laughing before suddenly getting serious. He hadn’t become her person for no reason. He always knew what she couldn’t put into words. He also knew what she didn’t even dare to admit to herself. He said to her: 

“Seriously Mer, history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, you know.” 

“What? What do you mean?” she asked a bit curtly, still in denial and on the defensive. 

But he doesn’t really need to explain anything to her. They both knew she understood exactly what he meant. She was always there waiting for the other shoe to drop and meanwhile she forgot to move on, and above all, she forgot to live.

“I’m going to go and see where my future wife is hiding because the guests and the minister are late. I don’t care if Kepner destroys me like she said she would.” He took a step as if he was about to leave and then stopped to say: “Mer, you know even if I’ll have to leave, I’m not leaving you, you know that?”

“I know that,” she replied with a smile.

Then, he looked at her and gently added:

“You’ll be fine.”

“I know. Thank you,” she repeated.

“And here comes your Italian!” he said, chuckling as he walked away.

_Oh no!_

When she saw Andrew coming towards her, she once again opted for the easy way out: running away. She quickly dodged among the small group of guests to go and join April and Catherine who were standing in the furthest corner away from where he was, aware that he had noticed that she had done so on purpose and that he might take it as a snub. 

She knew she wasn’t going to be able to avoid him indefinitely since they lived under the same roof. Sooner or later, they would have to acknowledge this strong attraction between them. She had almost jumped his bones the other day when he came to sit next to her on the couch and she had literally run away to retreat to her bedroom. How indeed to remain unmoved when she had dreamed once that she ripped off the sexy black T-shirt that he was wearing, and which seemed to be his favorite?

How much longer was she going to fight what she felt for him? What exactly was she scared of? Wasn’t it time for her to be greedy? She has been extremely tempted lately by a mouth-watering treat _made in Italy_. What held her back from tasting it?

After three-quarters of an hour dithering over whether to continue avoiding him or not, Meredith had had enough. She was dying to be with him. After all, it was a wedding and they were supposed to have fun. Andrew always knew how to make her laugh. It was high time for her to go to join her plus-one. Just then, she spotted him moving away from the guests and decided to follow him. 

********************************************

Hearing footsteps behind him, Andrew turned around and saw Meredith walking in his direction. He was surprised to see her there. It was no secret that she had been avoiding him for a week.

“Dr Grey, you haven’t seen my plus-one by any chance, have you?” 

Meredith sighed. She knew he would have the right to snub her, given the way she had treated him the past few days.

“Andrew, I’m sorry. I’ve been in a pretty sad mood since this morning and… uh... I…” 

“I understand. Weddings can make us a bit emotional sometimes.” 

“Yeah... indeed,” she nodded. 

He must have been thinking about Sam, she thought to herself, but she got it because she missed Derek very much this morning when Alex had referred to their wedding on a post-it and also when Zola had asked her if she would ever remarry one day.

Andrew was wondering if she was looking for him or if she needed some solitude like he did.

“Meredith, if you want to be alone, I…” 

“No!” she shrieked, and then she calmly added: “No… I don’t want to be alone.” 

Hell no, she didn’t want to be alone anymore!

“Let’s take a walk, shall we?” she asked. 

They held each other’s hands and strolled leisurely while admiring the beauty of the place. They were both more than aware of the overwhelming closeness between them. Neither of them knew what to say. Andrew didn’t know why she was there but for now, he was only happy to see her. 

Eventually, he broke the silence: 

“Zola’s really pretty as a flower girl. So is Sofia.” 

“Yeah, they’re both really cute. The kids are having a lot of fun,” replied Meredith.

They started talking about how excited Zola was to be a junior bridesmaid for the first time so they wouldn’t talk about their feelings and above all, they would forget that their bodies were so close. But after Zola’s hairstyle, her dress, her shoes, the flowers, the endless poses for the photographers, they exhausted the subject and could think of nothing else but the urge to kiss each other.

Arriving on a small bridge, they stopped for a while. Meredith seemed nervous and couldn’t hold his gaze. But Andrew kept staring at her, consuming her with the full intensity of his look. She had no choice but to raise her head up to meet his black eyes which conveyed everything he couldn’t tell her. She wanted nothing more than to be able to taste his lips just for a moment.

_Just for a mere moment..._

She took a step closer to him and hesitated for a second… and then, unable to take it any longer, she stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck to crash her lips onto his, passionately. 

When their lips met, a shock wave spread throughout their entire bodies. At first surprised, Andrew took a split second to react. That was the time his mind needed to register the fact that Meredith Grey was kissing him and that he could kiss her like he had been dying to do so for weeks! 

Closing his eyes, he quickly slid his hand behind her back to hold her even tighter against him and kissed her back. Her lips had the best taste in the whole universe. It was visceral, deep and emotional. But as suddenly as she had kissed him, Meredith broke their kiss after only about ten seconds, gasping.

Oh my God, what had she done! She had just kissed Andrew Deluca! 

“Andrew, I… I’m sorry… I…” 

As she was about to extract herself out of his arms, Andrew was quick to pull her closer to him, a hand around her waist, to prevent her from running away.

“Meredith, wait!” he said in a pleading voice. 

He held her very tightly in his arms, causing her to toss her head back to look at him.

“Andrew...” Meredith protested weakly. 

“Mer, there’s something between us and I know you feel it too,” he said in the same tone. “Running away and not talking about it is not the best solution.” 

“I never should have kiss you… you’re my resident and… I’m your attending,” she berated herself.

“Any guest at this wedding will tell you to find a more convincing argument,” replied Andrew in a mocking tone. 

“But… Maggie…” Meredith stammered before Andrew cut her off.

“I wonder why she wanted me to be your plus-one tonight?” he said, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head to the side. 

It wasn’t really a question since they both knew the answer. However, Meredith seemed even more nervous when she realized what that meant. No… they couldn’t be together! 

Andrew’s left arm was still encircling the small of her back. He was smiling at her. She was more than aware that she was in his arms and she wanted to let her body go against him and allow herself to feel this torrent of new sensations that shook her whole being and made her knees buckle a little. With his right hand, he was caressing her cheek in order to make her tilt her head just a tiny bit, and he began to lean over slowly, very slowly...

But he stopped when their lips were about to touch, just a few inches apart. Meredith could feel his breath on her face. He wanted her to close the distance on her own. And she wanted so badly to close the distance as well, but instead, she whispered:

“Andrew… this is a very bad idea.” 

_The best kind of bad idea!_

Andrew noticed that her voice lacked conviction and that she was no longer moving, as if she didn’t want to run away anymore.

“Meredith… shh! Give me your lips.”

Andrew’s voice was hoarse with desire. His nose brushed against hers, sending wild tremors along her nerves. His lips were now so close to hers that they could almost touch. She was at his mercy. She couldn’t resist anymore. She felt her will abandon her. 

“Andrew!” she sighed.

It was a low whisper to let him know that she had surrendered. But Andrew might have interpreted it as another refusal because he repeated: 

“Shh!” 

She thought her intentions weren’t clear enough and hugged him even closer while closing her eyes and puckering her lips.

Just then, Andrew raised his head slightly and asked in a puzzled tone: 

“Meredith! Do you hear that?” 

Meredith finally sensed that something was off in Andrew’s voice. He seemed to listen for something.

“What?” she asked, slowly coming back to reality. 

Was that screaming? When they pricked up their ears, they heard calls for help coming from a nearby shed. It was Alex and Jo! No need to wonder what they were doing there!

Moments later, Andrew managed to kick down the door and free the bride and groom who had inadvertently locked themselves in there, in their urge to start the honeymoon earlier.

“Mer! Deluca! Glad to see you,” Alex thanked them. 

“Meredith, there’s a dead guy in there,” Jo stated. 

“What? Let’s call 911,” Meredith suggested. 

But Alex replied: 

“No need to rush! But if you were looking for a quiet corner, find yourselves another one.”

Meredith glared at him, but he only smirked and said:

“Let’s go back to the wedding.” 

Andrew held Meredith’s hand instinctively as they rushed back to the party.

********************************************

The whole wedding planning was turned upside down because the minister still hadn’t arrived and the wedding planner, a young woman as odd as April, had an allergic reaction to the seafood. The wedding finally took place on the ferryboat two hours later, officiated by a very sexy minister in a blue dress. But after the rescue of Alex and Jo, the spell had been broken. Andrew thought that all this turmoil was like providence for Meredith who seemed to regret having kissed him on an impulse. She had begun to avoid his gaze again and, as soon as the ferryboat docked, she left without saying a word to him to go home with the children.

He let Carina drag him to the party that was thrown at Jackson’s place, but he was bored to death. Carina was heartbroken because Arizona had left town today, and on top of that, Meredith wasn’t even there. He ended up sitting next to Webber and they both spent the evening toasting the newlyweds with Webber’s favorite drink — sparkling apple juice.

It was past 09 p.m. when he arrived home — or rather at Meredith’s place — after dropping off a very drunk Carina. The house was quiet and dark; Meredith and the children must have been asleep for a long time. Andrew was dying to go and join her in her room, crawl into bed next to her and make love to her. But it was only his fancies, even crazier after this wonderful kiss, that were speaking. He knew it was much wiser to go to take a shower — preferably a very cold one — and go to bed right away. At least, he would find her in his dreams and would be able to relive their kiss over and over again.

A few minutes later, he got out of the shower, invigorated. Dressed in his pajamas, he made his way to the living room to retrieve his headphones, which he must have left on the couch — he wasn’t sleepy at all and wanted to listen to some music since he couldn’t play the guitar that late. He tripped over a toy and bumped into a piece of furniture; he uttered a yelp of pain, cursing the poor toy under his breath. 

He was rummaging through the cushions and blankets for his headphones, which he couldn’t find, when a noise caught his attention. He looked up and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Meredith.

_Wow! She was… Wow!_

His imagination must have been playing tricks on him. She was wearing a light ivory chemise, absolutely stunning, with a matching knee-length robe made of soft, thin satin. Her long blond hair was down and fell freely over her shoulders. Andrew was speechless. There were no words to describe how beautiful and sexy she was.

After what seemed like an eternity, Meredith’s voice, soft and sensual, maybe a bit shy, too, broke the silence: 

“Hi!” 

**A Kiss to Build a Dream on**

(Jill Barber)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h83pPedQwyU>

Give me a kiss to build a dream on  
And my imagination would thrive upon that kiss,  
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this  
A kiss to build a dream on.  
Give me a kiss before you leave me  
And my imagination will feed my hungry heart,  
Leave me one thing before we part,  
A kiss to build a dream on.

//: When I’m alone with my fantasies, I’ll be with you,  
Weaving romances and making believe they’re true.

Oh give me your lips for just a moment  
And my imagination will make that moment live.  
Give me what you alone can give  
A kiss to build a dream on.://  
A kiss to build a dream on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you want to know what is going to happen! LOL! And please, promise me you will not google translate the French version (I can see you Paloma!). You will miss out a lot of things, thrust me.
> 
> We are approaching the end of the first part of the series, as there is only two chapters left. I have some ideas for the second part, but I can’t help wondering if you are still interested in the fic. So, are you willing to bear with me for a second part? Yes? No? Please, let me know because it’s very important for me (I’m really anxious to say the least).
> 
> See you soon!


	7. You’re Makin’ Me High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meredith and Andrew can’t get out of their minds that kiss exchanged at Alex’s wedding. As the desire between them goes up a notch, so does their dilemma: what will happen if they give in to their wild desire?
> 
> You’re Making Me High, by Toni Braxton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally on Twitter (Erika Ange @Merlucaforever). I don't know how it works yet (LOL!) but the first step is done, I have an account. Yay!

_He was rummaging through the cushions and blankets for his headphones, which he couldn’t find, when a noise caught his attention. He looked up and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Meredith._

_Wow! She was… Wow!_

_His imagination must have been playing tricks on him. She was wearing a light ivory chemise, absolutely stunning, with a matching knee-length robe made of soft, thin satin. Her long blond hair was down and fell freely over her shoulders. Andrew was speechless. There were no words to describe how beautiful and sexy she was._

_After what seemed like an eternity, Meredith’s voice, soft and sensual, maybe a bit shy, too, broke the silence:_

_“Hi!”_

Andrew wasn’t expecting to see her. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the kiss. It hadn’t been easy to resist the urge to go up to her room and now there she was, in that alluring chemise that literally made him dizzy. He wasn’t sure how to react because she had completely panicked after kissing him. What did that mean? She certainly needed time. The last thing he wanted was to rush things with her. He was willing to wait for her. And suddenly he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would wait for her for as long as it took.

“Hi!” he replied. 

“You’re back already,” she commented.

“Yeah… did I wake you up? I… I tripped over one of Bailey’s cars and…” 

“I wonder which one of you plays with those cars the most,” interrupted Meredith, a gleam of tenderness in her eyes as she conjured up the image of Andrew and the little boy playing together.

But men didn’t like being reminded that they could be like little boys too, sometimes, and Andrew replied: 

“Me, I fix them, that’s all.” 

“Oh, sure!” Meredith quipped. 

“Uh… I’m sorry I woke you up,” Andrew repeated. 

“No… you didn’t. I couldn’t fall asleep.” 

Indeed, she had been tossing and turning in her bed for about an hour and couldn’t sleep. As always, she was thinking about him. She was imagining him beside her, touching her, and she couldn’t help but touch herself. She had been reliving their kiss over and over. They couldn’t pretend that it hadn’t happened. They had to talk about it, and she couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

She had heard him coming home and had been dithering over whether she should go to his room. She had finally decided to go downstairs when she heard a noise in the living room, knowing that it was him. But she didn’t know where to start. She felt a little gauche and started fidgeting with the belt of her robe before tying it around her waist to hide her chemise that she suddenly deemed a little too short. Her inner voice asked her why she had put on that sexy lingerie if all she wanted to do was _talking_. But she knew the answer. She wanted to be with him — she wanted him so badly!

Andrew had gone silent and was staring at her. He could sense that she wanted to talk about the kiss. Unfortunately, he knew what she was going to say, and he was apprehensive. She was probably going to say that she was sorry and that it never would happen again. And was he supposed to answer that it was fine, that it was forgotten so that it wouldn’t affect their work and, most importantly, the beginning of a potential friendship between them? She could find plenty of excuses to keep denying that there was something between them and avoiding him, as she had been doing all week. But the truth is… the truth is, she had kissed him today, and he wished she had never stop! 

“I’m… I’m going to see if… if I can find something in the kitchen… to help me fall asleep,” she stammered.

Andrew seemed to have finally found his tongue again and suggested: 

“OK. Hmm… How about a glass of warm milk with honey?” 

“Warm milk? It’s for kids, isn’t it?” 

“Maybe, but it does work.” 

Meredith made a face: 

“ _Eww!”_

“Okay. Got it, no warm milk; you’re not Ellis. Hmm... tea then? I can make you some herbal tea. I have just the very thing.” 

No wonder; this house lacks nothing since he’s been there. And he didn’t want Meredith to reimburse him for even part of the groceries that he bought all the time.

“Okay. Herbal tea it is then.” 

In the kitchen, once Andrew had finished putting the kettle on the stove while Meredith took the mugs out of the cupboard to put them on the kitchen island, there was a brief moment of silence. She was visibly uncomfortable in his presence, so he started to talk about the wedding, which was a total fiasco, much to April’s dismay. He even managed to make her laugh. They had also learned about April and Matthew’s wedding and rejoiced at the news. Andrew told her about the party at Jackson’s that she had missed, and Meredith told him about Alex and Jo’s upcoming departure for Boston — he understood better why she looked a little sad at the wedding.

When the tea was ready, Andrew suggested that they go to the living room. They both sat down on the couch, but a bit apart from each other. There, another silence settled as they were quietly sipping their hot drink in contemplation. Andrew was staring at his mug as if an answer to all their questions were about to spring forth from it. And suddenly, he heard her say:

“I’m not sorry I kissed you at the wedding.” 

She had spoken in a soft, quiet voice. Andrew barely heard her. Surprised, he looked up at her, as if to get confirmation of what she had said. But the way she looked at him was enough. He had been secretly hoping for it from the bottom of his heart and was so happy to hear her tell him that!

“And… it’s all I can think about ever since,” she continued. 

Yes, and it was an understatement because she couldn’t get her mind off him and thought that she might be obsessed.

Andrew’s face lit up with a big smile. He replied simply in the same soft and quiet voice: 

“I’m glad you kissed me and… I can’t get that kiss out of my mind either.”

Meredith smiled back at him, happy to see that the kiss meant something to him, too. She exclaimed with a nervous laugh:

“Well, OK! What do we do then?”

Andrew placed his mug down on the coffee table and slowly approached her. He crouched down in front of her and took her mug from her hand to place it down as well. Then, he took her both hands in his and answered with a smirk, but in Italian:

“ _I suggest that we go on kissing_ … _and that we never stop.”_

“ _That’s fine with me,_ ” she replied in Italian, too. 

Andrew was amazed that she spoke Italian. She chuckled and answered the silent question in his gaze in Italian:

_“Did I tell you I took three years of Italian in undergrad?”_

“Wow!” he exclaimed.

She went on in English:

“Yeah! But, unfortunately, I only have a few words left to decipher the menus at the Italian restaurants.” 

“I have no doubt that you can make reading an Italian menu sound one of the sexiest things in the world,” said Andrew.

Then, shifting from his crouching posture, he sat down next to her on the couch before continuing in Italian, without letting go of her hand:

“ _But you know, I can also teach you other words that will be very useful for other… occasions.”_

The double entendre of his words was thinly veiled, and Meredith couldn’t help but blush a little. When she was around him, he always made her temperature rise.

“You know, I’d rather we talk a bit first, but in English please — though I love it when you speak Italian.” 

Andrew knew that what had happened was not simply a matter of sexual attraction. He had never felt that way about anyone. Not even Sam.

“Mer, I understand that you feel the need to talk about it, but I already know everything I need to know. I know nothing is more important than you and me right now and how we feel. I know I want to be with you. I know I need you. And you, Meredith, do you know what you want?” 

Meredith didn’t know this side of Andrew’s personality. He seemed so confident, so sure of himself, but in a good way, without being cocky. He understood and respected her and wanted to reassure her. He knew exactly what he wanted, unlike her, who didn’t really know what she wanted. What was happening between them was a bit confusing and that scared her. 

She wanted him to the point of going crazy. She had put on that sexy nightwear on purpose. But she knew deep down that it wasn’t a game of seduction for her. She hadn’t played it in a long time anyway. She remembered that she was very good at it; she could hit on and pick up whoever she wanted in a bar. What especially made this game easy is that the stake was only a night of sex and the guy would leave at dawn. But with him, it was not a game. She wanted a night of love with Andrew. And above all, she wanted him to still be there in the morning. 

“It’s not as simple as I wish it were, Andrew,” she said. “For starters, we could try not to rush things and… to get to know each other better.” 

“As for not rushing things, I think it’s a bit too late. We’ve skipped a lot of steps since we’ve already been living together for six weeks,” Andrew replied jokingly with a smile. “And as for getting to know each other better, well... besides being together at work all the time, we have breakfast and dinner together almost every day and spend our spare time with the kids. We’ve already had our first date and our first kiss today... kind of. I’ve already seen your underwear that you leave in the dryer all the time... Hmm, very sexy by the way! I know that you have the sweetest laughter in the world and that you’re an amazing mom and a fine surgeon. I also know that you’re a real disaster in a kitchen — but knowing how to cook is far from being a deal-breaker for me! And I’m even willing to pretend to like romantic comedies if that means you’ll fall asleep in my arms. And I don’t mind if you snore!” 

Meredith couldn’t help but burst out laughing and gently nudge him.

“I don’t snore, come on!” she protested. 

“Yes, I assure you,” said Andrew while laughing. But suddenly his laughter trailed off and he looked into her eye. His voice had grown deeper and the intensity of his look had changed when he spoke again: “Mer... we’ll do whatever you want. It could be so amazing between us! I know it’s complicated, so… we’ll take it slow. But tonight... tonight, I’d like to kiss my plus-one, if she’ll let me.”

That was very gallant of him, Meredith thought, given that she hadn’t asked for his permission to kiss him this afternoon at the wedding. She, too, wanted to kiss his handsome plus-one whose closeness literally clouded her thoughts and made her heart pound. He was caressing the back of her hand with the flat of his thumb, sending shivers all over her body. He smiled at her and his eyes scanned her face with adoration… she could easily get lost in that sensual and deep look.

They started to lean towards each other… slowly… until their lips met. They closed their eyes at the same time. And it was magic! It was as if time had stood still. Andrew slid a hand on the nape of her neck, and she ran her finger through in his hair. Wow! His hair was so thick and silky. They were slowly sucking each other’s lips, as if they wanted to take their time to get acquainted.

Indeed, this time, she hadn’t thrown herself in Andrew’s arms with eagerness like she had done at the wedding, and they were able to take their time to savor the kiss as they explored each other’s mouths… slowly… lightly… tenderly. Meredith sensed that she was getting high and that she could even touch the sky.

_His lips set my whole body on fire!_

Then Andrew allowed himself to deepen the kiss. He took possession of her mouth and slid his tongue inside to meet hers. A sensual and erotic duel ensued. His right hand went down to her lower back to bring her closer to him. He continued to deepen the kiss for a few moments. 

_Her lips are soft and so sensual!_

Then his mouth shifted to her neck, her throat, which he began to suck gently. A moan escaped Meredith’s lips, prompting him to undo the belt of her robe and help her to get rid of it in order to expose her shoulders. He cupped one of her breasts in his left hand through her chemise and slowly stroked it. He then slid the right strap of her chemise and bent down to swirl his tongue around the hardened nipple before taking it into his mouth.

Meredith thought she was going to faint. Head tossed back and both hands buried in his black curls, she couldn’t help but whisper his name:

“Andrew!” 

Recognizing one of her sensitive spots, he then slid the other strap of her chemise to release the other breast which he took in his mouth while his hand continued to caress the one that his mouth had just abandoned. 

Meanwhile, Meredith’s hands were caressing his broad shoulders, his neck, his chest. But she wanted to feel his bare skin against hers and silently let him know to take off the top of his pajamas. So, he divested himself of it with one hand. She could now feel under her fingers his toned torso and abs. Wow! How firm and manly they were! She couldn’t resist the urge to hold him tighter and she slid her hand along his back to feel his body against hers. 

They kissed again and again, a little more avidly this time, as their hands continued to explore each other’s body. They both wanted more. A lot more. Their hands, their mouths became more impatient and bolder.

Andrew had never wanted a woman that much, but he certainly didn’t want her to have any regrets the next morning if she wasn’t ready yet. He therefore refrained from going any further, even if it was almost beyond his strength to control himself. So, when she reached out for the waistband of his pants, he thought he should warn her while he still could, before it became impossible for him to stop — and it was now or never!

“Mer, your slow pace is really very fast, you know.” 

But Meredith had long since reached the point of no return. Actually, she had reached that point at the very moment their lips had touched. So, she whispered to him, punctuating her words with kisses on his lips: 

“Don’t worry… I’m not going to jump you without warning… like I did at the wedding. I’m going to give you three seconds… to prepare yourself.” 

All Andrew knew was that he didn’t want her to stop, that he wanted to take her, right there, right now.

“Mer, are you sure?” 

By way of an answer, she smiled mischievously at him and said:

“Only two seconds left...”

But three seconds was way too long a wait for Andrew who had already flipped her over onto the couch without warning.

Meredith found herself lying on her back and she uttered a little laugh.

“Who’s picking up speed now, huh?” she asked. 

Andrew hovered over her, smiling and gazing at her, his eyes full of lust, before crashing his lips onto hers with passion. Then, his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper as he said:

“I want you…” 

Meredith felt that his erection had reached its peak. She wanted him so badly, too. But not here.

“Andrew… let’s go up to my room… the kids…” she moaned. 

Then, Andrew remembered the kids and wondered how he could have forgotten them. He knew that they sometimes woke up when they were thirsty because he had slept on the couch for several weeks before moving into Amelia’s room. He stood up and helped her to do the same. Meredith adjusted one of the straps on her chemise. They grabbed their clothes and managed to drag themselves up to Meredith’s room without ever really breaking contact. 

There, standing in front of the bed, they finished to undress hastily. Andrew pulled away an inch to look at her. She was so beautiful, with only her black lace panties on! A smile flashed across his face and reached his eyes. He was sure that this image of her would remain forever burned in his head.

“You are so beautiful! I must be dreaming!” he said, laying her down gently on the bed. 

Andrew slowly pulled her panties down, putting little kisses on her mound of Venus. Then his expert tongue set out to explore her intimacy. Oh my God… what he was doing to her… it was…

“Oh yes! This is so good… Oh yes!” 

She felt a wonderful and powerful sensation building up for a while throughout her body, making her back arch and her toes curl. Oh my God, this was just too damn good! She just couldn’t take it anymore. She had no control over and had no choice but to let herself go. She was flying into ecstasy. Then, all of a sudden, she screamed out his name as all the tension was released, leaving her whole body trembling. It was the most intense orgasm she had ever had.

Andrew lifted his head to look at her. The ecstasy made her look even more beautiful. He kissed her so that she could see how good she tasted.

When she finally caught her breath, Meredith maneuvered to get on top of him and began to caress and kiss his manly body — a body more magnificent, more perfect than any known work of art. She also discovered some of his sensitive spots such as his neck and his earlobes. She pressed herself closer against his aroused body to feel the enormous bulge hidden inside his boxer briefs. She was already eager to feel him inside her. And Andrew was even more so.

So, he quickly got rid of his boxer briefs. Meredith took her time to admire him. He was even more beautiful than she had imagined. Bare naked, he came and positioned himself between her legs and looked her in the eye as if to give her time to change her mind if she was having second thoughts, or to let him know if she wanted them to protect themselves, not knowing if she was using any contraception method.

“Mer?” he asked. 

But Meredith couldn’t wait any longer; she thrust her hips forward to came to meet him in order to let him know she wanted him. 

“I want you, Andrew… Take me!” she moaned.

Only then did he slide into her, slowly, filling her up completely. She was so wet, so warm, so ready to welcome him! Andrew groaned in pleasure, joining Meredith’s moans. He started to thrust, caressing her, kissing her, and it wasn’t long before they found their rhythm.

He was moaning and whispering to her in his native language how beautiful and sexy she was, how she drove him crazy, how he wished this moment would never end. Attentive to her every wish, he didn’t fail to notice when her moaning became louder, and he knew he had to pick up the pace. He drove into her over and over again.

“Oh God! Oh… Oh yes!” she screamed out. 

Her screams eventually got the better of Andrew and he couldn’t hold it any longer either. They felt themselves carried away by a wave as powerful as a tsunami that took them to the summit, somewhere where everything seemed to be accelerating and slowing down at the same time; somewhere where space and time no longer existed.

While they were floating, they were only aware of this delicious electric discharge that took control of their thoughts, of their muscles and to which they had to abandon themselves completely until the inevitable and dizzying descent, both dreaded and long awaited, began to bring them back, breathless, amazed and dazzled, to the shores that were supposed to be more stable but which nevertheless seemed, as much as their bodies, unable to stop shaking.

Meredith had to revise what she had told to herself just a few minutes ago. Because _“this”_ was the most intense orgasm she had ever had!

Andrew had collapsed on her chest. She looked so slender and delicate in his arms that he was afraid he would crush her under his own weight. So, he was about to pull out of her, but Meredith said to him:

“Wait! Stay a little bit longer.” 

She didn’t want to deprive herself of his warmth or the feeling of his weight on her yet. She wanted to keep him… to feel his heart and soul inside of her… just for a little bit longer — or all night?

Andrew leaned down to put a soft kiss on her lips. He gazed at her for a few seconds. When he finally spoke, he said:

“Mer, it was wonderful! It was amazing!” 

“It was really, really great,” agreed Meredith.

“Yes, it was really great. And if you let me recharge my batteries first, we could do it again. Because the night belongs to us,” he teased her.

Meredith laughed as she let him slide out of her after he gave her a last peck. They cuddled for a good long time, happy, laughing and teasing each other. They just couldn’t get over what was happening to them. Andrew was speaking both Italian and English and was completely enamored of Meredith’s accent as she tried to answer in Italian, too.

She didn’t know that her Italian lessons were going to start so soon. But unfortunately, she was not sure that she would ever be able to use her new knowledge outside of her bedroom. Indeed, he was just telling her for the umpteenth time how amazing she had been. He also teasingly pointed out how loud she had been, admitting in passing that this had driven him over the edge.

“It’s all your fault, you know. You should have warned me to prepare to have my mind blown!” she said. 

“So, consider yourself warned,” he teased her, leaning over to kiss her passionately. 

And they did it again… and again… all night.

**You’re Makin’ Me High**

(Toni Braxton)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_9ixTIjhA>

**[Verse 1]**  
I’ll always think of you  
Inside of my private thoughts  
I can imagine you  
Touching my private parts  
With just the thought of you  
I can’t help but touch myself  
That’s why I want you so bad  
Just one night of

 **[Pre-Chorus]**  
Moonlight, with you there beside me  
All night, doin’ it again and again  
You know I want you so bad  
baby, baby, baby, baby

 **[Chorus]**  
Ooooh, I get so high  
When I’m around you baby  
I can touch the sky  
You make my temperature rise  
You’re makin’ me high  
Baby, baby, baby, baby

 **[Verse 2]** **  
** Can’t get my mind off you  
I think I might be obsessed  
The very thought of you  
Makes me want to get undressed  
I want to be with you  
In spite of what my heart says  
I guess I want you too bad  
All I want is

**[Pre-Chorus]…**

**[Chorus]…**

**[Bridge]**  
I want to feel your heart and soul inside of me  
Let’s make a deal, you roll, I lick  
And we can go flying into ecstasy  
Oh darling you and me  
Light my fire  
Blow my flame  
Take me, take me, take me away

**[Chorus]…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to let me know what you think about the first time of Merluca. It was very challenging to write (specially to translate into English) since I’ve already written a first time for them in another fic (The Season of Love, chapters 11-13). By the way, I am currently proofreading it and I will repost it in a few weeks.
> 
> See you soon.


	8. Feeling Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meredith and Andrew wake up at dawn in each other’s arms after their first night of love. It’s pillow talk time because sex is known to secrete oxytocin, the bonding love hormone that makes people feel good and connected. They open up to each other, both excited and overwhelmed at the thought of all the changes this new day will bring to their lives. 
> 
> Song: Feeling Good, by Michael Bublé

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is the last chapter of the first part of the series. I hope you’ll like it. 
> 
> See important note at the end concerning a possible second part. You’ll also find a playlist of all the songs.

A hand sliding over her stomach, a toned arm encircling her chest, a soft kiss on her bare shoulder, then another one on her cheek... and that warm and tender voice whispering in Italian in her ears “ _Good morning beautiful”_ , it was not one of her wild dreams. They really had spent the night together — the whole night — and she was waking up in his arms!

Mmm... she was feeling good... so good! Moaning, she snuggled up to him, and slowly opened her eyes to meet his gaze. He was looking at her adoringly, a broad smile on his face. Meredith couldn’t help but notice his beautiful smiling eyes, his flawless features, and his tousled hair. How could he be even cuter in the morning?

She replied to him in Italian, with a smile that matched his own:

_“Good morning, handsome!”_

Andrew put a gentle kiss on her lips. He knew that last night meant a lot to him. No words could describe his happiness this morning when he opened his eyes and saw her lying next to him. He hadn’t dreamed about it... it was real! He had never felt so good. He certainly had a lot of questions because he didn’t understand what was happening to him. But he loved what was happening to him. He loved all the new things she made him feel for the first time in his life.

“Yes, it’s a beautiful morning. And last night was truly special. It was the best night of my life, Mer. Sorry if that sounds like a _cliché,_ but it’s so true,” he said.

Meredith smiled. There was nothing more romantic and sweeter than a _cliché_ when it came from the heart, she thought.

“Andrew, _clichés_ become _clichés_ because they convey exactly what we want to express. Last night was also the best night of my life.” 

This night had exceeded all their expectations. It was sublime. A glance at the alarm clock on her nightstand revealed to Meredith that it was still very early, and she realized that they hadn’t really slept much. They had teased each other, laughed a lot and made love to each other passionately for hours. They fell asleep nestled into each other’s arms, both forgetting that they usually liked to stay on their side of the bed.

They were still dazzled by their passionate lovemaking. Never before had they felt such a deep connection as though their two souls had become one, making them discover unknown pleasures. Yet, it was not because they hadn’t had amazing sexual partners before they met. It’s just that… there was something between them… something special that was beyond them right now and that made all the difference.

Andrew tucked a strand of hair behind Meredith’s ear and stroked her cheek before saying:

“Mer, I know we didn’t do much talking last night, but I think we should talk about... what’s next? I told you so last night, you and I are just amazing together! I don’t want it to stop at all. Do you?”

Meredith didn’t hesitate for a second before answering because there was nothing in the world that she wanted more than to be with him.

“I have no regrets, Andrew, if that’s what you’re asking. And… I don’t want this to stop at all either,” she repeated. 

Meredith’s words made his heart beat faster. He was so happy to hear them! He leaned over to press another kiss on her lips.

It was way too soon to disentangle their feelings from their desires; they both knew it. Even though they couldn’t yet name their feelings, they had no doubts about one thing: it was not a one-night stand for either of them, thus they had to take their time to see where this thing could go.

“Andrew, I think we should keep that to ourselves for the moment. I know that our sisters were aware long before us of our attraction to each other, but I don’t want to tell anyone about us yet. It’s too soon.”

“Me neither, Mer. But we won’t be able to keep it from them for long, you know.” 

“I know but…” 

“But you’re not ready for us to show up at _Grey Sloan_ this morning holding hands,” he quipped. 

He had tried to speak in a light tone, but Meredith knew what he was thinking about. She was an attending who slept with her resident and he must have been wondering if this situation might not be embarrassing for her. She saw it in his dark eyes; but he got her all wrong. Meredith remembered that, when she started dating Derek, she had to face the people who accused her of sleeping with an attending so that her career would take off. She didn’t want Andrew to have to go through such a thing as well. She wanted to reassure him, and she said: 

“Andrew, we’re certainly going to have to establish some rules so as not to forget that first and foremost we work at _Grey Sloan_ and we have to be professional. We must avoid being the object of gossip at work; you know as well as I do how cruel people can be sometimes. But... I assure you that if I’m talking about rules, it’s not because I’m ashamed of us. I just want us to take the time to see where this thing can go before, that’s all.”

_Because I truly believe that we can make this into something more._

Andrew knew that Meredith was right. He had already been hurt by such gossip when he was dating Maggie. And the only thing he was sure of was that Meredith Grey was worth it, and that they had to stack the odds in their favor to make it work. He was more prepared now to deal with these kinds of things. He was no longer a first-year resident; he was a fourth-year resident. That made a big difference. More importantly, what he felt for Meredith was different.

There was a genuine smile on Andrew’s face this time when he replied: 

“Okay. Let’s take our time to see where this thing can go. Tell me, what are the rules this time? I feel like you’ve already given this a lot of thought.”

“Oh, there’s bound to be a whole bunch of rules, but to begin with, let’s just say that there’s no way you and I are going to walk into _Grey Sloan_ holding hands!” she said, causing Andrew to burst out laughing. “Not to mention the fairly obvious rules like, uh… you know what I mean.”

“No… I don’t,” Andrew teased her as he drew imaginary lines on her breasts, a gleam of lust in his eyes.

Meredith nudged him lightly and laughed:

“Andrew! Do not attempt to distract me. You may not look at me like that with your beautiful eyes... like... like you wanted to undress me.”

“Hmm... but you’re already undressed, you know.”

Seeing Andrew’s mischievous smile, she added:

“And that smile, you wipe it off your face when we’re at work! I’ll probably melt in front of everyone if you smile at me like that!”

Andrew really couldn’t stop laughing when he heard Meredith’s rules and their justifications, which he found more than charming — and he was truly flattered.

“Mer, this is going to be torture. How can I not smile when I hear your giggle?” he whimpered.

“Sorry. You’re just gonna have to deal with it. And... as for the children...”

But she had been gently cut off by Andrew, whose tone had immediately become more serious:

“I know. We agreed that I had to leave before the kids woke up. I understand, Mer.” 

Indeed, if the children saw Andrew in her room, she would have to explain to them what was going on between them. The problem was that she didn’t know what was going on yet. This would put too much strain on their relationship, which was not even an actual relationship yet.

It was amazing how quickly the children had become very attached to Andrew. Meredith didn’t want to run the risk of seeing him abruptly disappear from their lives because things wouldn’t have worked out well between them. If that were to happen, she hoped with all her heart that he would remain a friend to the kids. She really wasn’t ready for that step and she thanked him for his thoughtfulness:

“Thank you for being such a gentleman!” 

She moved closer to him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Their legs were entwined under the sheets. Their hands also began to move slowly over each other’s bodies as their kiss became more intense. They were wearing nothing but their underwear. They hadn’t needed their nightclothes because they had kept each other warm all night long. Meredith slid her hand even lower and could see that it didn’t take much to turn him on.

“Mer, I’m afraid it’s going to be very hard for me to leave if your hands don’t stop what they are doing, like… right now!” 

Meredith smiled coyly at him and said:

“Yeah… very hard, indeed!”

“Mer, I really like your dirty sense of humor, but I might not be a gentleman anymore if you keep making things harder.”

“We have plenty of time; the kids are not likely to wake up so early, you know that very well.” 

“So, I think I have an idea,” Andrew said mischievously.

“Mmm… What idea?”

“How about a shower?” 

When she saw his smirk, Meredith knew exactly what he was referring to. That was exactly what she had said to him the night she had brought Carina home to help her drag him off the couch. She pretended to be offended by what he had implied: 

“Hey! Don’t look at me like that! I never invited you to have a shower with me!” 

“Oh, but you did! Ever since you put this idea in my head, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about it and regretted not having accepted your invitation.” 

“Andrew, that day, it wasn’t an invitation, you know that as well as I do,” Meredith protested. “You needed to get washed and I had to tell you so, for your sake and the sake of everyone around you.” 

Andrew looked at her, tilting his head to one side.

“Really Meredith? Weren’t you dying to get in the shower with me that day?” 

Meredith couldn’t suppress a smile any longer.

“Okay, I was. But now, I wonder why it was the first thing that had crossed your mind?” 

Andrew laughed.

“So do I. Come on, we’ve already wasted too much time. We’re finally going to take it, this shower.” 

They quickly flung the sheets off and each of them jumped out on their own side of the bed. Andrew approached her and held her hand to lead her to the bathroom. Then, they stripped their underwear off while chuckling. Meredith turned on the water to set the temperature before they got into the shower.

Andrew immediately slid his left hand around her waist to embrace her while, with his right hand, he drew a line with his fingers to follow the water as it slid down her milk-white skin. His hand slowly went from her throat all the way down to her chest, over her breasts, stopping for a moment on the hardened nipples which he stroked with his thumb before continuing towards her flat stomach, causing her to moan with pleasure. It was as if he was discovering her body in daylight.

Things got steamier when he started to stroke her inner thighs. Meredith had instinctively spread her thighs in order to give him better access to her and allow him to slide one finger into her… and then another one.

“Mmm!” she moaned.

She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming and wrapped her arms around his strong neck. But, when Andrew maneuvered to replace his fingers with his hard virile member and began to thrust, she couldn’t hold her screams back any longer. She wrapped her legs around him to allow him to go even further. His thrusts got faster and faster as she repeated: 

“Andrew! Oh yes! Oh yes!” 

“Mer!” he groaned in his turn. 

Andrew knew that Meredith’s moaning was going to keep him from holding it very long, even though she was trying to muffle them so as not to wake the children up. And God knows he was trying hard to hold it. That didn’t help when Meredith started kissing his earlobe and his neck. It was such a pleasurable torture. He could see that she was getting very close, too, and picked up the pace.

And wow! An explosion of delicious sensations, amazingly intense, went throughout their bodies almost simultaneously and they reached ecstasy, screaming each other’s name.

********************************************

A few minutes later, after they had managed to wash without giving in to their desire again, they were in the bedroom, getting dressed, when Andrew caught Meredith’s stare on him. No doubt, she liked what she was seeing very much, and Andrew couldn’t help but blush a little. He asked her teasingly: 

“What are you looking at?” 

She giggled quietly, half flustered, half amused — exactly like him.

“You should put on your pajamas quickly if you want us to get out of this room,” she advised him. 

But instead, Andrew threw on the bed his pajama top that he was about to put on and approached her with that smirk on the corner of his lips that had the gift of moving her more than she could tell. He embraced her and said: 

“I really don’t want to leave this room. And neither do you. We should call in sick today, what do you think?” 

“What?” 

“Why not? We just have to call Bailey and tell her that we ate something yesterday at the lavish wedding buffet that made us sick… and you ask one of your sisters to come and pick up the kids to drop them off at school and daycare.” 

While he was speaking, he punctuated his sentence with small kisses on her neck and tried to undo the belt of the robe she had just put on. Meredith replied, giggling quietly: 

“Have you already forgotten that we agreed not to tell anyone yet? The best way to get caught by our sisters, is for both of us to call in sick the same day — if Miranda Bailey doesn’t kill us first. She’s already missing three surgeons. No, it’s actually four. Alex and Jo are on their honeymoon, Arizona is with her soul mate in New York and Kepner is working with her brand new husband, helping homeless... not to mention all those who will have a hangover this morning and won’t be able to go to work.” 

“Oh, Damn it! The interns and my heartbroken sister will probably be hungover this morning.” 

“So, do you still think it’s reasonable? Especially, on a Monday morning!” 

Andrew let out a deep sigh.

“Okay, you’re right,” he reluctantly surrendered, “Let’s save it for another day, then.” Cocking his head to one side, he added with a smirk, “Maybe tomorrow?”

Meredith scoffed and gave him a gentle nudge, pretending to be shocked by his suggestion that she was dying to accept deep down. But she was the attending and — alas — was expected to set a good example to her resident.

“Come on, we have to hurry now. It’s time for me to go and wake up the kids and help them get ready.” 

“And me, I’d better go and see about breakfast. What do you want this morning?” he asked her while grabbing his pajama top, which he pulled on quickly. 

_You… I want “you”. I have never tasted anything more delicious than you. And I could never get enough of you._

Meredith was glad he couldn’t read her mind, otherwise, they would definitely have spent the whole day in her bedroom.

“I’m starving. I’d like waffles, if you still have time to prepare them.” 

“Whatever you want, Dr. Grey!” he said.

He embraced her to give her one last slow and languid kiss. Leaving her, even for a few minutes, seemed sorely unbearable to him. He would gladly stay in her arms forever. But he found the will to pull apart from her, telling himself that this was the most beautiful day of his life that had just begun.

_Meredith Grey felt the same way about him, and they were going to give it a chance! How much better could a day get?_

He had almost reached the door when Meredith called out for him: 

“Andrew, wait!” 

“I knew it!” he exclaimed. 

“Knew what?” 

“That you were going to change your mind!” 

“No!” she laughed quietly, flattered to see that he would be willing to blow everything off to stay with her. “I’m just going to check if the coast is clear before you go.” 

“We’ll make up for it tonight, then. It’s a promise,” he said. 

Meredith smiled at the thought of another night of love with him. She opened the door and motioned him to approach after having poked her head through the doorway.

“The coast is clear. You can go.” 

When he reached the doorway, he turned around to look at her.

“What?” Meredith asked coquettishly, overwhelmed by his intense gaze.

“I want to take my guitar and sing about how I’m feeling good. I want the whole world to know how I feel,” he smiled before continuing in Italian, “ _But don’t worry, I’ll keep our sweet secret in my heart, Signora_.”

Then, he put a quick peck on her lips before leaving, a big smile on his lips. 

Meredith watched him walk down the stairs light-footedly. He looked so happy! But she was even more so, knowing that she was the reason why he was happy, just as he was the reason why she was happy, too. She leaned her back for a moment against the door she had just closed behind him.

A blissful smile began to form on her lips and widened so much that it turned into a happy little giggle as she walked over the bed and plumped herself down on it with her arms spread wide. She started daydreaming instead of getting up to get ready.

She felt like the last six weeks had gone by like lightning, and for good reason! So much had happened in six weeks! Andrew had come into her life, and he had made her feel again. She didn’t think it was possible that he could feel the same way about her. She had tried to run from the truth and walk away, but deep inside, she had always known that whatever she felt about him wouldn’t go away. Everything was so confusing, so wonderful, so overwhelming…

Was it just a _crush_?

Was there more? 

Was she ready for more?

Meredith deliberately drove away all these questions. For now, she was floating on cloud nine and didn’t want to think about anything else. Nothing else but Andrew, his smile and his beautiful eyes. Nothing else but those new sensations that he aroused in her with a simple glance, a simple touch. Nothing else but this new day full of possibilities and promises. Nothing but what she was feeling at that very moment.

_Mmm, I feel so good!_

**END OF PART ONE**

**_…_ **

**Feeling Good**

_(Michael Bublé)_

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzwFLUuE9uE_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzwFLUuE9uE)

**[Verse 1]** **  
**Birds flying high  
You know how I feel  
Sun in the sky  
You know how I feel  
Breeze driftin’ on by  
You know how I feel  
It’s a new dawn  
It’s a new day  
It’s a new life  
For me  
And I’m feeling good  
I’m feeling good  
  
 **[Verse 2]  
** Fish in the sea  
You know how I feel  
River running free  
You know how I feel  
Blossom on a tree  
You know how I feel  
It’s a new dawn  
It’s a new day  
It’s a new life  
For me  
And I’m feeling good  
  
 **[Verse 3]  
** Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don’t you know  
Butterflies all havin’ fun you know what I mean  
Sleep in peace when day is done  
That’s what I mean  
And this old world is a new world  
And a bold world  
For me (For me)  
  
 **[Verse 4]  
** Stars when you shine  
You know how I feel  
Scent of the pine  
You know how I feel  
Oh freedom is mine  
And I know how I feel  
It’s a new dawn  
It’s a new day  
It’s a new life  
  
It’s a new dawn  
It’s a new day  
It’s a new life  
  
It’s a new dawn  
It’s a new day  
It’s a new life  
It’s a new life  
For me  
  
And I’m feeling good  
  
I’m feeling good  
I feel so good  
I feel so good

…

**Playlist**

**There Is No Greater Love,** Amy Winehouse

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiVVbraY0k_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiVVbraY0k)

**Crush,** David Archuleta

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_wmxuqwnI_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_wmxuqwnI)

Chapter 1: **Smile,** Nat King Cole

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXuB6md9zPk_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXuB6md9zPk)

Chapter 2: **For the First Time,** Kenny Loggins

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bieBrWI8Y_I_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bieBrWI8Y_I)

Chapter 3: **Feels Like Home,** Diana Krall - feat. Bryan Adams

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AidwZxOUhMo_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AidwZxOUhMo)

Chapter 4: **Butterflies,** William Black & Fairlane ft. Dia Frampton

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BBCg82L9gk_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BBCg82L9gk)

Chapter 5: **Complicated,** Carolyn Dawn Johnson

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7nnIf6cNo_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax7nnIf6cNo)

Chapter 6: **A Kiss to Build a Dream on,** Jill Barber

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h83pPedQwyU_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h83pPedQwyU)

Chapter 7: **You’re Makin’ Me High,** Toni Braxton

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_9ixTIjhA_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_9ixTIjhA)

Chapter 8: **Feeling Good,** Michael Bublé

[ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzwFLUuE9uE_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzwFLUuE9uE)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, do you think she’s ready for more than just a crush? Knowing Meredith Grey and her fear of commitment, will she give this relationship a chance to develop? What about Andrew? Has he really gotten over Sam? Is he ready for a new relationship so soon? Are they both ready?
> 
> You will (maybe!) have the answer in the second part of this series in a couple of months. In the meantime, you could reread the first part and share it with your friends. If you liked it, put a kudos to the story and a little comment to encourage others to read it too.
> 
> Don’t forget to listen to the songs. In addition to “Feeling Good”, I especially recommend listening to “Crush”, which inspired the first part.
> 
> Thank you all for reading. Thank you also for your kudos and comments. Stay safe and see you soon!
> 
> Happy New Year!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading (and listening to the songs, I hope). I’m looking forward to your feedback. The next chapter will be posted in two weeks. 
> 
> See you soon!


End file.
